In the Eyes of the Beholder
by BlackKnight93
Summary: Guided by a note from her missing father, a young woman finds herself submerged into the world of the BPRD with nary a clue as to why. Movieverse, ASXOC, HBXLS to a lesser extent. AU-ish, delineates before events of "The Golden Army."
1. Mermaid

BK93: OMG I'M BAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAACK!! With another one of my zany and bizarre stories of the unusual kind! Yay!

Hellboy: And she dragged us along.

Abe: No kidding. This may get weird…

BK93: Dude, you guys are already weird. Matter of fact, I think you have the copyright on weird. Really.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not, repeat, do NOT own the awesomeness that is my new obsession, Hellboy. Dark Horse comics owns their asses. I just use them, possibly against their will, for entertainment purposes.**

Any questions? BEGIN!

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There was a great amount of commotion throughout the BPRD building as a young woman was dragged down a hallway by two armed guards.

"Let go of me!" She shouted angrily, kicking and flailing to break free of the guards, who basically drug the girl down the hallway, a guard on each arm, her hands cuffed behind her back and the handcuff chain looped into the belt loop on the back of her dark-wash denim jeans. The guards had learned quickly that even handcuffed, the girl was trouble. The guards led her through a set of gold-tinted double doors.

"Hellboy!" One guard called out. "You in?"

"Yeah yeah yeah don't yell, I'm right here." The young girl's eyes widened at the sight of the humongous monster, power sander in hand. "Had to sand these down up here. Liz is sleepin'." He said, flicking one of his cut-down red horns.

"We caught this girl trespassing. What should we do with her?" One guard pushed the girl forward. She stumbled slightly and glared up at Hellboy, who merely sneered back.

"I get that look all the time, honey, try something else. It might've worked on those pansies, but not me." The girl scowled even more and kicked Hellboy in the knee. She smirked as he bent over in pain to inspect the damage. The guards grabbed her again and her smirk was instantly gone. She struggled to get away. "What the hell is wrong with you?" The girl didn't answer, only glaring. "Who is she?!" Hellboy shouted at the guards.

"We don't know, Red. It changed every time we asked." One guard said.

"Really now?" Hellboy knelt down in front of the girl and gripped her chin with his human hand. "What's your name, princess?" He asked snidely.

"Naomi Campbell. What do you think it is, dipshit?" She replied.

"Why I oughtta…" Hellboy raised his stone hand to strike the girl. She wasn't afraid.

"Go ahead! Hit me! You're no different from any of the others!" She cried out. Hellboy lowered his arm.

"What?" He sounded incredulous. The girl's face turned about as red as he was.

"Nothing." She said defiantly. Hellboy grabbed her by the front of her black tank top.

"All right, little lady, I want a straight answer out of you, so cut the crap. Who are you?"

"Karasu Yoru." She replied.

"What?"

"Karasu Yoru."

"You don't look Japanese. Quit playin' with me. I'm not in the mood for games."

"Fine. My name is Raven Night. Karasu Yoru is the Japanese translation."

"Clever. Now, why were you trespassin' here?" Hellboy asked.

"I wasn't trespassing! If these jerks will let go, I have something to give you." Raven glared at the guards.

"You heard the little lady. Let her go." Hellboy said. The guards released her arms, but not the handcuffs. She glared at them again.

"Gee, thanks. It's in my back pocket on the left, but the way they got me set up, I can't reach it." Raven turned her backside towards Hellboy. A small, folded piece of paper stuck out of her pocket. Hellboy took it and unfolded it and read it.

"What is going on here?! Why is this young lady handcuffed?" Abe stormed over angrily, having been walking past to find a new book to replace the one he had just finshed.

"That's what I wanted to know." Raven uttered.

"She was trespassin', Blue. Here, read this. Doesn't make much sense, though." Hellboy pressed the note into Abe's webbed hands and walked away. Before he could get far, Raven began to cough violently. She doubled over and fell to a heap on the floor. Hellboy turned, surprised, and took two short strides back to the girl's side.

"You alright?" Raven was hyperventilating now. She definitely wasn't alright.

"Water!" She choked out. Abe knelt beside the girl as a guard hurried to find her some water. His fingers brushed her forehead. Her skin was cold and clammy, and she needed much more than a drink of water.

"Get her uncuffed, now!" Abe shouted. The guards hurried to remove the girl's delicate wrists from the cuffs, leaving them looped through her pants. "Hellboy, pick her up!" Hellboy scooped up Raven's spasming body.

"What the hell's going on here, Abe?!" He demanded.

"Bring her to my tank!"

"And then what?!"

"Drop her in!" Hellboy did as he was told. Raven floated for a moment in the crystal blue water.

"What the hell, Abe?"

"Watch. You'll see." Before Hellboy could ask again, something overtook Raven. He legs fused together and her dark brown braid had come undone. Gill slits became apparent on her neck. Turquoise eyes became chrome. Raven took a deep, gasping breath before curling up into a little ball. Her mouth moved, but all that came out was a high-pitched squealing noise.

"What was that?" Hellboy asked Abe.

"She said don't look at her. She's embarrassed. She doesn't like this form." Hellboy, Abe, and the two guards averted their eyes. Abe remembered the guards and turned to them. "Thank you, gentlemen, you may leave now." Hellboy kept trying not to stare.

"She's a mermaid."

"Yes. Lovely creature, isn't she?" Abe said. There was more screeching from the tank.

"Ow. What'd she say?"

"She says don't look directly into her eyes in this form. Mermaids are notorious for killing sailors by looking into their eyes."

"Hm. I always thought it was their voice."

"Mermaids actually do have rather beautiful singing voices. Their regular voice…not so much. Keep an eye on her. I'll be right back." Abe left the room. Hellboy watched as the beautiful creature before him flitted about so effortlessly in the water, her eyes closed. She swam to the far side of the tank, where the water was a little darker, and curled up in a ball. There was another screech.

"Catch any of that?" Hellboy shouted.

"Not really." Abe lied as he entered the room with a blanket and several towels. The words uttered were ones of such complete self-loathing that he didn't want to repeat them. "I'll go talk to her." Abe entered the tank quietly and swam over to Raven. Hellboy watched as the two exchanged words unheard by the great red monster, for they were speaking in hushed whispers. Raven shook her head, causing her inky-colored hair to toss and float around her prettily. Abe raised his hands in like he was trying to convince her of something. Raven's head hung as she said something. Abe backed away, obviously shocked. Hellboy tapped the glass to get their attention. Abe turned around and swam toward him.

"What'd she say?" Hellboy asked. "I feel kind of left out, not being able to swim very well and all." After thinking for a moment, he came up with another question. "Why aren't you dead yet?"

"Mermaids kill by luring their victims into the water and drowning them. It has no effect on other water-breathers." Abe explained.

"Okay, what else did she say?"

"She doesn't want you or Liz or anyone else to look into her eyes when she's in this form."

"Why?"

"She's feeling intense amounts of guilt for the last person she killed."

"What?" Hellboy was shocked. "Bring her over here before she starts explaining. I want to hear this." He said, forgetting momentarily that her words only came out as screeches and shrieks.

"I'm not going to put her through that, Red! It's obvious the poor child has been through a lot. She was sent to deliver a message to us and she was handcuffed. She tries to explain herself and almost dehydrates. I'm not going to make the child list her past sins and transgressions unless she wants to tell us."

"Child? Wait a minute, how old did she say she was?"

"She didn't say, I learned it when I touched her. She's sixteen, Red, a child."

"What else did you learn about her, then, and why didn't you say anything about her killin' a guy before I dropped her in the tank?" Hellboy was getting agitated.

"I told you, Red, she was dehydrating, very bad thing! We didn't have the moment to pause and interrogate her. Moving would have killed her."

"Okay, then, how did she kill him?"

"By accident. She can explain later if she wants." Abe said. Raven had drifted over into hearing distance and had heard every word exchanged between the great red demon and the blue _icthyo sapien_.

"No one's stood up for me since my papa left." She said softly, causing Abe to quickly turn around in the water. To Hellboy, the words still sounded like a screech. The softer she spoke to Abe, the more delicate and sweet her voice became, almost like a hum, like a song…Hellboy found himself entranced by her softly-spoken words. The hum became a song, the siren's song. He had to get closer to it…that voice…Raven looked up out of the corner of her eye and saw Hellboy walking forward, eyes hazy. A loud, piercing scream erupted from her very soul and she hurried away, pressing her back against the glass on the other side. Hellboy walked straight into the glass blindly. He took a few steps back and shook his head.

"What just happened?" He asked as he rubbed his head. More incredibly loud screeching filled the room. Hellboy couldn't understand a single word she cried, but he knew that the mermaid was frantic. Her tail thrashed in front of her to keep her back pressed against the wall, her hands also pressed against her wall. Her head tossed violently from side to side as she cried.

"Raven, Raven! Calm down!" Abe hurried toward Raven and took hold of her wrists. "You're alright, you're alright, don't shout so, you're fine." Raven still tossed her head, still shouting.

"What the hell is going on here? Did no one get the memo that it's 3:00 in the fucking morning and some people are trying to sleep?!" Liz stormed up the stairs, blue fire engulfing her arms. She spotted Abe and Raven in the back of the tank, Raven thrashing about violently, crying out, and Abe trying desperately to calm her. Liz was about to shout again when she caught sight of a lightly-colored silvery-white tail slapping at Abe's legs. "A…mermaid?"

"Yeah. I zoned out for a minute and she went ballistic. Can't understand what the hell she's screamin', either."

"She's definitely upset over something." Liz said. The pyrokinetic woman and great red demon watched quietly as the _icthyo sapien_ tried desperately to still the screaming mermaid. Slowly, her tail stopped thrashing, her voice lowered, and the tension drained from her body. Her energy was slowly draining away. Finally, Raven sunk down, disappearing from sight in the bottom of the deep tank.

"Raven?" Abe looked down and noticed Raven floating near the bottom, her eyes closed. Raven appeared to be sleeping, and as Abe got closer, he realized she was. Raven tucked herself up into a ball, eyes closed, tail flicking every minute or two to keep her in the cooler, darker water in the bottom of the glass tank. Abe swam back up to be face-to-face with Hellboy. "She fell asleep!"

"All the screamin' and kickin' must've finally worn her down and out." Hellboy said, gesturing to the red marks forming against the bluish-green, scaly skin on the lower parts of Abe's legs. "Looks like the kid has some claws on her, too." Abe looked down at his wrists, where crescent-shaped red marks were forming.

"She has quite a grip and a good deal of force for someone so small." Abe chuckled lightly. "Hello Liz." Abe smiled. "Did we wake you?"

"Well, a loud screeching woke me up, so I guess you did. Or she did, one." Liz leaned up against Hellboy, who put his arm around her. "Where'd she come from?"

"Guards caught her outside and thought she was trespassin'. Thought she might try to vandalize the place or somethin'." Hellboy explained. "She gave us this note and I can't make head or tails of it." Hellboy walked over to where Abe had dropped Raven's note at the start of her dehydration. He walked back over and handed Liz the note.

"It just says "To my dearest, I'm coming back for you soon, my lovely. Until then, my research bids me stay here. I want you to go to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense until I can come home. You'll be safest there, love. Your Nana is growing old and does not understand your needs, Raven. They will. Give my regards to Professor, if you see him. I love you, my dearest, signed, your father, Dr. Xanthus Night." Liz read. Abe, who had just come from the tank, joined his other two agents.

"Why would a father include his full name and title in a letter to his daughter?" Hellboy took the note from Liz. "It hit me as suspicious when I first read it."

"Let me see that." Abe said, extending one webbed hand toward Liz. Liz handed him the note, and instantly he saw the reasoning behind it. "Dr. Night's been kidnapped. He didn't want Raven to know or to be in danger, so he sent her to us. They want Raven to use as a test subject."

"Who, Blue?"

"I don't know. That part's unclear, but they're somewhere in Austria…"

"Not the damn Germans again!" Hellboy sighed, exasperated.

"No, Red, not Germans…that much I do know." Abe said. Hellboy visually relaxed.

"Good. I hate Germans. Freakin' Nazis."

"Not all of them are Nazis, Red."

"Just the ones we've met." Hellboy reminded him.

"Pretty much." Liz piped in. She yawned and stretched. "I'm going back to bed, boys. Not that this wasn't fun and all, but it's 3:30 in the God-blessed A.M. and I'm tired." Liz kissed Hellboy's cheek. "Goodnight."

"Night, babe." Hellboy said as she walked away.

"Don't call me babe!" Abe laughed at the playful banter between the couple.

"Women." Hellboy dismissed her quietly. "I'm gonna crash, too." He said.

"Go ahead. I think I'll read a book until Raven wakes up. Or play with this annoying little contraption some more." Abe held up his ever-present, never-solved Rubik's Cube. Hellboy laughed at this.

"You finish that thing before that girl wakes up, Hell will freeze over, Blue." Abe laughed sarcastically at this.

"Thanks for the support, Red." Abe joked. Hellboy dismissed him with a wave of his hand and a smile, heading down to the room he shared with Liz. Abe walked over to the stereo and turned it on, turning the volume down so not to wake up anyone else. One sonata began to play, Tartini's violin sonata in G minor, the Devil's Trill sonata. He sat down on the sofa with his Rubik's Cube, twisting and turning the cube in various directions. He had a line of one color on one side and a line of another on another side, but getting more than one colored line on the same side was a trick he had never quite mastered. A small voice caught his attention.

"Giuseppe Tartini." A voice whispered. Abe looked up and around and noticed Raven, her slender, lily-while hands pressed against the glass keeping her in the tank.

"What?" Abe asked.

"Giuseppe Tartini." Raven repeated. "I like this song. It's so haunting, but so beautiful and demanding. Papa used to play this for me and Nana. He used to get sweaty trying to keep pace with the tempo of the song." Raven hummed with the quick tempo of the music, swirling around in the water, her hair clinging to her face and floating about her, her eyes closed. Her arms rose up as she swirled. Abe watched as Raven lost herself to the music and thought her one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. She swished and twirled, propelled by her elegant silver tail, until she partially opened her eyes to realize that she had an audience. Her arms came down to her sides and her hands were clasped behind her back.

"Forgive me, I forgot myself." Her face was red, a bright contrast to her pale skin. "Nana never did like my dancing. She thought it wasn't proper for a young lady to flit about the dance floor with men looking on."

"Your nana sounds like a wise woman." Abe said.

"She was very starch and upright, a strong, Christian woman. She didn't approve of dancing because she thought it induced lust in young men. She didn't like much of anything. Television, computers, alcohol…she thought alcohol was the creation of the devil. But Papa wasn't as strict. He and I would watch television together when Nana was sleeping. He carried a laptop around with him for his research and he taught me how to use it. Papa was also known to drink. Especially red wine and sake. You put either in front of him and he would drain the bottle in less than an hour. Papa used to tell the funniest stories when he was drunk. About how he met Mama, about how Nana used to scold him when she found him drinking…" Raven sighed, leaning against the glass. Abe heard the small "clink" of metal on glass. "Whoops…" She had gotten so caught up in talking about her family that she had forgotten about her ring. "I hope I didn't scratch the glass…" Raven leaned down to examine the area for any possible damage. Abe walked over.

"What did you hit it with? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Abe showed pure concern, his large, fishlike blue eyes holding some of the emotion.

"No, I'm fine, it was just my ring." Raven held out her thumb to display a silver ring decorated with an intricate Celtic knot. "Papa brought it to me when he went to Ireland. I never take it off." Raven twisted the ring around her thumb. The water made it a bit looser on the digit.

"You can come out of there, if you want." Abe said.

"I know. Papa told me it was best for me to stay in the water for a few hours after I have a close call like that, just in case."

"Good advice." Abe nodded. "Your father is a smart man."

"Thank you." As Raven and her parents always saw it, a compliment to one member of the family was a compliment to all of the family. Her face was tinted pink. Raven rested her palms against the glass, and Abe did the same, his basically on top of hers. Being separated by a wall of Plexiglas, he couldn't read her, but he could see the genuine look of trust on her face.

"You're the first person that's been kind to me since Papa left. Nana looked after me, but I'm not sure that she was ever actually capable of human emotion." Raven laughed. Abe chuckled. "I just wanted to say thank you." Raven kissed the glass quietly. If he could, Abe's face would have turned redder than a cherry tomato. "Thank you." Abe, in turn, didn't know what to say. He stammered foolishly, smitten like a young schoolboy. Still in a bit of shock from Raven's gesture, Abe said nothing and stumbled away, falling on to the sofa. Raven giggled sweetly.

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BK93: Now that we have the first part over with, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME AND EAT MY INSIDES!

Love to all y'all if you made it this far.

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS: **

THERE WERE NO NUMBERED COMMENTS MADE IN THIS CHAPTER

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

Yeah, I know it's not the Blackheart story you were expecting, but it's something, right? Right?

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	2. Burritos?

BK93: Wow, two in one day…I must really like you guys! :) Don't you feel special?

BTW: Manning shows up in this chapter, and it becomes perfectly clear that I don't like the guy. You'll see.

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When Raven awoke, someone was standing over her, staring down at her. She shrieked and slapped the offender, pulling a dark blue sheet closer around her thin body. _Where did this come from?_ She wondered for a moment before focusing more on the issue at hand.

"Ow! Hellboy, will you please explain who this girl is and why she just hit me?"

"I'm perfectly capable of explaining myself, thank you, dipstick!" Raven spouted.

"Oh God, not another one! She's just like him! Please tell me you're not related." The man looked at Hellboy.

"The way she hits, I wish she was." Hellboy laughed, picking up one of his cats that had dared to wander to the first floor. "Shoulda seen what she did to Blue last night. The kid's a fighter."

"Well, you certainly are manic today, colonel."(1) Raven commented as she stood up and stretched.

"Huh?" Both Hellboy and the other man looked at her in confusion.

"TV. Ever watch it?" Raven cracked her neck.

"Just cartoons and the news." Hellboy said sarcastically. Raven rolled her eyes at him.

"Anime. It's like crack, only twice as addicting." Raven smiled as she walked over to Hellboy and took the cat from him, sitting down in a high-backed chair. "So, who's this joker?" She asked, tossing her long, shapely, denim-clad legs over the arm of the chair and leaning against the other arm. "Kitty kitty kitty…" She rubbed the cat's head, looking generally uninterested in who the man was.

"Ah, it's just Manning. Feel free to hit him again." Hellboy commented. "Dead serious, feel free."

"Hellboy!" Manning warned. The great red demon ignored Manning and lit up a cigar. "Now who the hell are you?" Manning glared at Raven, who only glared back.

"I'd say Naomi Campbell, but I used that on horn-head last night. Raven Sevella Night." Raven said. "Call me Rae." She said. "Or don't. Whatever you prefer."

"How did you get here?" Manning asked.

"Your dimwitted guards caught me and thought I was trespassin'." Raven said coolly. "Does he purposefully get left out of the loop?" She asked Hellboy, turning her attention to him.

"You have no idea." Hellboy replied with a smirk, which Raven returned.

"Ah, good morning, Raven. Did you rest well?" Abe walked over to the small congregating group, saving Hellboy and Raven from Manning's soon-to-occur explosion. Raven's face turned the slightest bit pink and she returned her attention to the cat in her arms.

"Yes, actually, I did. Woke up to this freak staring at me." Raven said, jerking her head towards Manning, who was fuming mad.

"You're in an awfully good mood, Blue. Somethin' good happen last night?" The demon would have cocked an eyebrow, if he had any. If he could, Abe would have blushed. Raven's face turned red enough for both of them. Manning was the only one who hadn't caught Hellboy's joke. Raven tried burying her face in the cat, but it hopped down and ran away. She crossed her arms over her stomach, the sign of a self-conscious, embarrassed girl.

"Hellboy! It was nothing like that!" Abe cried in embarrassment. Manning still looked clueless when Hellboy looked back over at him.

"I asked him if they had-"

"Hellboy!!" Hellboy was sharply cut off by his friend. Raven buried her face in her shoulder. "Now look what you've done! You've humiliated her!" Abe gestured to Raven, who stood up.

"I'll just…go this way, now." Raven said, getting up and walking past Manning.

"Young lady! Come back here!" Manning shouted.

"I'll get her." Abe volunteered, following the quickly-moving Raven.

--

Raven ran faster when she heard Abe behind her, calling her name.

"Raven, please, wait up!" Raven rounded a corner in front of him. Abe rounded the same corner and found Raven curled up on the floor, her back to him. "Rae?!" He ran over to her. "Are you alright?"

"Just peachy." Raven lied. Abe knew she was lying.

"Is there something that you want to talk about, Rae?" Abe sat down beside her as she sat up.

"I know what Hellboy said was just a joke, but it sparked some unwanted memories. The kids in school used to call me a whore because I liked to hang out with guys more than with girls. I just wasn't into makeup and dresses as a little girl. I liked sports and playing "space man" with the boys. In fifth grade they started teasing me about it, and from sixth grade on they were just plain mean to me. I haven't been able to take sexual jokes ever since." Raven curled up. "Just because I liked boys more than I did girls doesn't make me a whore." Raven crossed her arms on top of her knees and rested her head on her arms.

"Of course it doesn't. It may make you a bit of a tomboy, but never a whore." Abe placed one of his hands on Raven's shoulders. "And I happen to know that you called Tommy Bates a sissy and gave him the beating of his life in third grade and you tied Chassity Wesson's ponytail to her chair in sixth grade. A girly-girl wouldn't have done that, now would she?" Raven looked up in surprise.

"How did you know about that?" She asked. Abe held up his hands.

"It's how I learn about people. Psychic abilities and all."

"So you're a water-breather like me _and_ you have psychic abilities?" Abe nodded. "That is so _cool!_" She beamed. Abe smiled.

"I'm glad you think so." Abe said.

"What else do you know about me?" Raven asked, sitting up a little.

"Your favorite color is purple, you love lilies and sour gummy candies, you can't stand the smell of your nana's perfume and think it smells like dead cat, you punched out your last boyfriend for touching you inappropriately during a movie, and you have a great sense of humor." Raven made a small rolling laugh that almost sounded like a cat's purr. "What was that?" Abe asked.

"One of my laughs." Raven replied. "My papa used to say I was his little kitty-cat."

"You sound like a kitty-cat." Abe agreed with a laugh.

"I like being a kitty-cat." Raven said.

"I like your laugh." The words stumbled out of Abe's mouth before they could stop them. Raven's face turned pink and she looked down at her arms.

"Thank you." An awkward silence passed between the two water-breathers.

"Maybe we should head back so that Hellboy won't make any more sexual jokes. But if he unsettles you again, just tell him. Hellboy's a good man; he'll figure it out if you stop him enough."

"Thanks, I'll remember that." Raven began to push herself to her feet when Abe jumped up.

"Here, allow me." He extended a webbed hand to Raven, who smiled softly.

"So chivalry isn't dead." She said, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet. Raven didn't expect Abe's strength and stumbled a little. Abe caught her and steadied her.

"Never." Abe said. Raven smiled and they headed back to Hellboy and the probably still-steaming Manning.

--

"Who is she, Hellboy?! I want to know!"

"To be honest, I dunno who she is. She showed up last night after the boys out front thought she was trespassin'. She had some note from some Dr. Xanthus Night or somethin'. She's his kid. Why don't you just ask her about it?"

"Wait a minute. Did you just say Xanthus Night? She's Xanthus Night's daughter?" Manning's eyes widened. "_The _Xanthus Night?"

"Yeah, I think so. What's so great about him that you gotta keep repeatin' his name?"

"Hellboy, do you know who Dr. Night is?" Manning asked in a frenzied tone.

"No, so why don't you get to the point and tell me?" Hellboy asked, twisting his father's rosary that was constantly looped around his wrist.

"Dr. Night was the first person to create a human-mermaid hybrid that lived past the age of two years old. Any others who had tried failed completely, until-"

"Until Papa created me." Raven walked in the room, Abe following closely behind. "Daddy's little abomination, right? It's every father's dream to have a little girl to spoil. Papa and Mama couldn't have one, so Papa made me. No one understood how I lived for so long. Truth be told, I could fall over dead at any minute. It's my…engineering." Raven walked up to stand between Hellboy and Manning. "Like all others before me, I would most likely turn out to be a failed experiment. Imagine Papa's surprise when I lived. He had created a life, engineered a daughter, with a bonus. He made a mermaid, one that grew and developed. One with emotions and feelings. One with a heart." Raven looked around the room at the three male figures. "I was designed and created as a human being and wish to be respected as such, not ogled over as a piece of my father's research." Her hard expression softened to one of a pleading look. "Please?" She asked softly. Her plea came straight out in a begging tone.

"I believe we can honor that request." Abe spoke up. "Don't you think so, Red?" Abe looked at Hellboy.

"I know so." The demon replied.

"Manning?" Abe looked at Manning, who was still staring at Raven, who shot him a glare.

"Of course we can!" He said quickly. Abe walked over to Raven and took her hand. She was scared of something. The gesture of kindness did not go unnoticed by either Manning or Hellboy, even though Abe tried to hide their clasped hands behind his thigh. Abe was obviously beginning to care for Raven in the short time since she had arrived, and vice-versa. Raven stood very close to Abe, almost connected at the hip with him. She seemed somehow comforted by his close proximity after being very unsettled delivering her plea. Manning couldn't quit staring at Raven.

"Please, Manning, quit staring at Rae. You're making her uncomfortable." Abe said, almost rolling his eyes at Manning. Manning stopped for a moment, but seconds later his eyes were back on Dr. Night's walking experiment.

"'Ey, Manning, don't you have somethin' better to do than stare at the poor kid? Leave her be." Hellboy commented, propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. Manning glared at Hellboy, who took his legs off the table and posed himself to get up, fisting his stone hand. Manning took one glance at the balled up stone fist and rushed out the door without even a simple goodbye. Hellboy laughed and put his feet back on the table and crossed his arms. "He'll be back."

"Thanks for standing up for me, guys." Raven said.

"Eh, Manning's a leech, anyway. I'd hit him anytime."(2) Hellboy said. "The way you did was classic."

"You hit him, Rae?" Abe looked at Raven incredulously.

"He was standing over me when I woke up. I got scared and slapped him." Raven explained.

"No wonder he had a bruise on his cheek." Abe replied. Really, he could understand Manning for wanting to stare at the lovely girl. She looked so angelic and peaceful when she slept, he recalled. She had shivered during the night, Abe remembered, and he had draped a sheet over her to keep her warm before returning to his tank to read his books and try to keep his mind off of the beautiful mermaid that had taken refuge on the sofa. Abe was lost in the memory until a comment from Hellboy brought him back to reality.

"Kid nearly knocked him off his feet." Hellboy said.

"Hey, my name's not 'kid,' okay?" Raven said.

"Yeah, I know, it's Raven Sevella Night, ain't it?"

"So you were paying attention, huh?" Raven commented.

"Believe it or not, I usually do, kid." Hellboy smirked. Now, he was merely trying to get Raven riled. Abe chuckled at his friend's tactic.

"The name's not kid!" Raven said angrily before realizing what Hellboy was up to and laughing. This laugh was different from the one Abe had heard a few moments prior. This laugh sounded like the tinkling of a small silver bell and was just as attractive as the one he had heard before. Raven was beautiful and an enchantress. She was a beautiful enchantress, his brain surmised, and he was almost completely under her spell. "Does anyone have a bottle of water?" Raven asked.

"I'll go get it." Abe said, almost in a trancelike state. He hurried off to find Raven a bottle of water, leaving the mermaid and the red demon alone.

"Looks like you have Blue wrapped around your little finger." Hellboy commented.

"Blue?" Raven asked.

"Abe." Hellboy replied.

"Oh." Raven said. "What about him?"

"He's got the hots for you in a bad way." Hellboy continued fiddling with his rosary as he spoke.

"Is that…bad?" Raven asked, sitting down on the floor beside the table Hellboy had his feet on and resting her elbows on it, her head in her hands and her legs tucked up beside her. Hellboy shrugged.

"Nah, not really. Blue's just kinda clueless when it comes to bein' in love. He doesn't know what to do or what to think about it. He's like a kid, ya know?" Hellboy said. He thought about something for a minute before continuing. "Looks like you got it in for him, too."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked. Hellboy rolled his eyes.

"Do you like Abe?" He asked outright. Raven's eyes widened at his forward question and prepared herself to dodge it.

"He seems like a nice guy, yeah." Hellboy's head fell backward in exasperation.

"Not what I meant!" He said angrily. "Do you _like_ Abe?" He added special emphasis on 'like' this time so that Raven couldn't lie her way out of the question. Raven sighed before responding.

"I…I'm not sure, I mean…I get this…_feeling_…around him…like…I'm safe." Raven said softly, blushing. "Like he won't let anything happen to me."

"Hmm." Was Hellboy's only response. Abe came back into the room and handed Raven the water she requested and sat down beside her.

"Thanks." Raven opened the twist-top bottle and drained almost half of it in a single gulp. "I needed that."

"So, what're we talking about?" Abe asked. Raven's face turned pink and she glanced over at Hellboy, her eyes pleading him not to tell Abe about their previous conversation. Hellboy took the hint and winked at her.

"I was just asking Rae what made her go ballistic last night." He said.

"I was actually wondering about that, too." Abe said. "Your demeanor seems to change a lot."

"Well, in the given situation, I was scared." Raven said.

"Of what?" Hellboy asked. "This little blue thing?" He nodded his head toward Abe, who gave him an indignant "I-am-not-little" stare that went unnoticed by Raven.

"No, not of anybody. Just of hurting someone." Raven said. "Hellboy, the way you looked at me…I knew something was wrong." Hellboy looked confused.

"Huh? Not makin' much sense, Rae." He said.

"The mermaid's spell. Curse, more like. You fell for it. Any man you looks into a mermaid's eyes or listens to her voice is compelled to get closer to the source. Thankfully, we were separated by that glass and I couldn't do much damage." Raven admitted quietly. "I never liked the way I am for that exact reason. The guilt was too hard to live with. I wouldn't even let Papa come near me for the next six months after the first accident."

"Accident?" Hellboy asked.

"I was nine and Papa thought it might be a good idea to go to the beach for a little while. I changed and caught the attention of a father playing with his children and…he followed me out to sea. I thought if I could outswim him and get back to shore, he would leave me alone, but…he…he drowned." Raven curled her knees up to her chest as her story got harder to tell. "I…I didn't mean to, and Papa didn't blame me…but I felt so horrible. I'd robbed a family of their father, all because I was stupid. I never went to the beach again after that. I was too afraid." Raven looked up at Hellboy and Abe, whose faces showed a look of general interest and not the signs of disgust Raven thought that she would see. "You…you don't hate me?" She asked softly.

"Of course we don't, Rae. What would make you think that?" Abe said, taking hold of one of Raven's hands and gripping it tightly.

"I killed someone."

"Yeah, but you said it was an accident, right?" Hellboy asked, causing Raven to look up.

"Yeah."

"Do we have any other reason to hate ya?"

"No."

"And there's your answer." Hellboy replied. Raven smiled softly.

"Thanks." She whispered.

"Anytime. I'm here nights, weekends, and on Mondays. I might take this show on the road. Hellboy's motivational speech show, or some shit like that." Raven and Abe laughed.

"You'd make a lousy motivational speaker, Red." Liz joined the little chattering group. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too." Hellboy said. "Anyone else?"

"Just a little." Raven admitted.

"Burritos?" Liz suggested.

"As long as Red stays away from the three-bean burritos. You remember what happened last time, don't you?" Abe laughed. Hellboy shot him a glare.

"We almost had to fumigate the place. How could I forget? The cats couldn't even stand to be around him!" Liz laughed.

"Do I even want to know?" Raven asked, looking around the room at the other three people.

"Probably not." Abe replied. "Let's go get burritos."

--

"Where is the girl, Dr. Night? We can make it easier for you if you will just tell us." Dr. Xanthus Night lie on the floor, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, his hands handcuffed behind his back. A man with a gun grabbed Night by the back of his collared white shirt and hoisted him to his feet, jabbing the gun into his shoulder. The dark-haired, dark-eyed scientist stared into the clear blue eyes of his captor, a calm-looking man with a crisp black suit and gelled brown hair.

"What do you want with my daughter?" Night growled. He had survived a week of this torture since his capture while working in Austria, and he could certainly survive more if it meant protecting his greatest and most precious creation- his daughter.

"Right now, I only wish for you to tell me where she is, Doctor, and if you don't start talking, I'll shoot you myself." The other man smiled cruelly. "And I can't lie, Doctor, I'll delight in doing it. Now, I'm only going to ask you one more time. Where is the mermaid? Where is your precious little bit of research?" The man stood and walked forward, flanked on either side by two large bodyguards. The man reached into his jacket and drew out a large Dan Wesson 357 Magnum .357-caliber handgun(2) and pointed it at his head.

"Now, Dr. Night, if you don't start talking, I will kill you." He cocked the gun, aiming right between the scientist's eyes, right over the nose of his glasses.

"Then why not do it with your bare hands, huh? C'mon, you're such a big sissy you need a gun to threaten me?" Night smirked smugly before he was pistol-whipped to the floor. Night shifted his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken before looking up.

"It's better to pick your battles, Doctor. This is not one you want to fight. Just tell us where she is and we'll let you go home." The man said, putting his gun up. Night sat up and pushed himself to his feet.

"Oh contraire, this very much so _is _a battle I'm willing to fight. You'll never get my Rae." He stared down his captor without a flinch, obsidian eyes hard and cold. The other man stared him down as well, neither wanting to back down.

"Bruno, see if you can get any information out of our friend here, but for the love of God, don't let the motherfucker die. I want him to watch me rip apart his creation bit by bit." The man left the small cell, followed by his two bodyguards.

* * *

BK93: Oh, this was fun. Who wants Raven dead? This is sure to get interesting.

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

(1): If anyone can tell me the anime and the episode, you get a digital cookie!

(2): My dad just bought one of these and it is a B-E-A-U-TIFUL gun.

**UNNUMBERED NOTES**

I had already been working on this chapter before I posted the first one. That's why you got it so fast.

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	3. Credit Cards and Handguns

BK93: Okay…There is absolutely nothing on TV at 1:00AM on Tuesday. Gahh.

* * *

"So, seriously, how many cans of air freshener did that take?" Raven almost doubled over in laughter as she asked.

"You have no idea!" Liz laughed uproariously. Two hours and several burritos later found the two girls laughing their heads off about Hellboy's last adventure with the food. Abe couldn't help but chuckle at the retelling of the story, Hellboy glaring at him all the way. "We almost had to evacuate the building it smelled so bad!" Raven and Liz had a good laugh at Hellboy's expense as they entered the BPRD building. Raven glanced over her shoulder and noticed a man standing outside of the gates, staring at her. She turned back toward the building and glanced over her shoulder again to find that the man was gone.

"Something wrong, Rae?" Abe asked, pausing in the doorway with Raven. Raven blinked a few times and scanned the darkness for the man.

"No. I'm fine." Raven followed Abe back into the building. _I could've sworn there was someone watching me…_

**--THISISABREAK!--**

As Raven and Abe entered the BPRD building, a man in a darkly-colored suit walked away on a cell phone.

"I have a confirmation on the experiment's whereabouts. She's in Fairfield with Bruttenholm's monster. Over and out."

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Raven quietly slipped into the water of Abe's tank, allowing her mermaid form to take hold. With a powerful thrust from her silver tail, Raven moved easily through the water.

"So that's what a real mermaid looks like, huh?" Raven looked up at Liz, who was standing on the other side of the glass.

"Yeah. Not as great as you thought, huh?" Raven asked, fiddling with her dark hair.

"Actually, truth be told, you're amazing. I've never seen something so pretty. The tank-top kinda threw me off, though." Raven looked down at her tank.

"It's the only thing I had. Forgot to pack before I came here." Raven admitted. "Dumb mistake."

"I'm sure we can squeeze some money out of Manning and go shopping tomorrow." Liz said. "If you're Dr. Night's daughter, he'll kiss the ground before you step on it. He worships the guy for his research."

"Sounds like fun. I'd like that." Raven smiled. "Will you go with me, Liz?"

"Sure, Rae. Girl's day out. Leave Abe and Red here to figure out what to do with themselves. Maybe Abe could convince Red to clean this place up a little." Raven chuckled.

"Liz? Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Not at all, kid. Shoot." Liz sat down in front of the tank and Raven swam down to meet her. She was so consumed with the question she wanted to ask that she didn't notice Liz calling her "kid."

"When did you figure out you loved Hellboy?" Liz looked shocked.

"How did you…" As far as she knew, neither Hellboy or she had told the girl that they were dating.

"Call it intuition." Raven smirked. The way you look at him and the way he looks at you speaks volumes. So, when?"

"I'm not really sure…I just know that one day, I looked into his eyes and something just clicked, and I knew it was right." Liz smiled dreamily at the ceiling before looking back at Raven with a schoolgirl's smile. The two girls giggled. "Why do you ask? Are you in love with someone, Rae?" Raven bit her pinky with a coy smile. "You are, aren't you?"

"I think so." Raven giggled.

"Really? Who? Do I know him?" Liz asked.

"You might." Raven swished around in the tank, spinning around. Liz gasped.

"I bet I know who it is!" She grinned.

"Who, then?" Raven smiled.

"Is it Abe?" Liz demanded with a smile. Raven shyly nodded and Liz squealed. "I knew it!"

"Don't tell, Liz! You have to promise not to tell!" Raven begged.

"Cross my heart and hope to die!" Liz beamed.

"And what are we so joyful about, ladies?" Abe joined the two bouncing girls, both of whom were still smiling.

"Nothing!" Liz lied. Abe rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

"Rae?" He looked at the mermaid.

"We were talking about girl stuff!" Raven said with a childish smile. "No boys allowed!" Abe couldn't help but chuckle. Raven's mermaid form apparently came with its own mindset, that of a small child's. She could also affect others around her with her childish demeanor, it appeared, for Abe had never seen Liz so unguarded and fancy-free.

"Rae has a crush on somebody!" Liz beamed.

"Li-iz!" Raven whined. "Don't tell him!"

"Sowwie…" Liz pouted.

"Liz, why don't you head down to bed. I'm sure Hellboy is waiting for you."

"Alright." Liz got up and headed down to the bedroom she shared with Hellboy. When she was gone, he turned his attention to Raven.

"I can't help it I have an infectious personality." Raven smiled.

"Really infectious. I've never seen Liz act like that." Abe admitted.

"Call it a personality trait, call it a design flaw. Either way, it's in my genes. Or my programming. Whatever you want to call it. I'm rambling." Raven smiled.

"I wouldn't exactly call you flawed, Rae." Abe said.

"We all have our flaws, Abe. Mine just include killer eyes, a killer voice, and an infectious personality."

And that's when the thought process walloped Abe over the head like a ten-ton sack of potatoes.

"Speaking of killer voices, how was Liz…"

"Able to hear me?" Raven shrugged. "Something about "this form releases the inner child in people, affects women differently," nyah." Raven waved her arms as she made her half-hearted explanation. "Weirdest thing."

"Yeah." Raven did a flip in the water and stretched like a cat just waking up from a nap. "Well, don't just stand there, come swim with me!" Raven smiled. Abe sighed and shook his head.

"Fine."

"Sweet!" Raven pumped her fists. "I like having a friend to swim with that I can't kill." Abe chuckled as he entered the tank.

"I'm glad I could be that friend." He smiled. An uneasy silence, similar to the one that had occurred earlier that day overtook the pair once again.

"Abe?" Raven finally spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Earlier, when we came back…I this feeling that someone was following us." She admitted quietly. "I didn't say anything earlier because I figured Hellboy and Liz were still in earshot and I didn't want to spook them. I figured it was just a feeling. I turned around and saw someone, blinked, and he was gone. I'm going crazy, aren't I?"

"Maybe a little. There's nothing for you to be afraid of, Rae. You're safe here. Sure, there are things that go bump in the night. We're the ones who bump back." Raven laughed a little bit. "Professor Bruttenholm used to say that a lot. Hellboy still says it a lot. Now, with a motto like that, how can you still be afraid?"

"The same way a young male Michael Jackson fan can run screaming from the Neverland Ranch." Raven said sarcastically.

"That doesn't make much sense." Abe informed her.

"Not supposed to. Just kinda one of the type things my papa would say when he was drunk. I'm tellin' ya, my father's a weird guy. I think you'd like him."

"I probably will." Abe agreed. Raven pulled her dark hair over one shoulder and began to play with the ends, twisting them.

"I really miss him." Raven let go of her loose hair and tossed her head. "I hope he's okay, wherever he is. I know something's wrong, Abe, but I don't think I'm ready to accept it just yet." Abe looked up at the smiling girl. "Let me live in my childish fantasyland for a little longer, and then I'll be ready to come out." Abe just stared at the young girl.

"How…?"

"Call it intuition. Papa wouldn't just send me somewhere if there wasn't trouble. He's been in Austria for three months. He would have come back at least to visit and check up on me by now. He has to be back to run my yearly diagnostics testing, and it's almost time for it." Abe was a little confused.

"Diagnostics?"

"Basically, I'm like a machine. It's like my thousand-mile tune-up, or, if you prefer, my annual check-up with the doctor. Have to make sure all of the components sustaining me are working correctly, otherwise, I go in to a catatonic, coma-like state until my problem corrects itself or is corrected." Raven explained calmly as if it was no big deal.

"Has that ever happened before?" Abe asked, purely interested in the girl's inner workings.

"Once, when I was seven. Right before Mama died. I missed my diagnostics check by two weeks, and my blood pressure went through the roof and shut me down completely. That's the way my brain is configured. If it is placed under too much stress, it shuts down my entire system, like the hard drive of a computer going out." The mermaid quietly moved through the water. "It's so great that you have this big space to move around in. It feels great. At Nana's I used to sleep in the bathtub so that I wouldn't dehydrate." Raven gave one hard thrust with her silver tail and propelled herself across the tank. Abe laughed at the bathtub comment.

"I spend most of my time in here, so they gave me a pretty nice space." Abe said. "Mostly I just swim around and read." Abe indicated to his four podiums.

"Do you read all of those at once?" Raven asked, swimming from book to book. "I can't even understand any of those!"

"They're mildly entertaining. I read when I'm not trying to solve that aggravating little contraption." Abe pointed the colorful, incomplete cube on one of the podiums. Raven stifled a laugh.

"A Rubik's Cube? You can read all this mumbo-jumbo that I can't understand and you can't solve a Rubik's Cube?"

"I haven't been able to for years." Abe admitted.

"Don't worry, I can't solve it, either. I gave one to Papa once with two of the stickers switched around. It took him three days to figure out why he couldn't solve it." Raven laughed.

"I wonder if Red tampered with mine." Abe said.

"Could be possible." Raven shrugged, yawning.

"Maybe you should get some rest, Ms. "Fantasyland." It was a long day." Abe said. Raven yawned again and nodded.

"Mind if I crash here? I need to be in water for a little while."

"Oh, no, I don't mind."

"You can stay with me, if you want. I mean, seeing as it is your tank and all…"

"I'll stay if you don't mind me staying."

"I don't mind you staying."

"Then I'll stay."

"Then stay."

"I will."

"Okay." At the end of their semi-conversation, both parties had to laugh. Raven swam over to the far end of the tank and allowed herself to sink into the cooler water. "Goodnight, Abe." She said.

"Goodnight, Rae."

**--THISISABREAK!--**

"Hey, Mr. Manning, do you have a credit card I might be able to borrow? You know, like a BPRD account card?" Raven rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands behind her back. Manning looked up from his pile of paperwork on his desk. Raven had applied her best cute little smile before walking into Manning's office. The man was falling for it perfectly.

"Right here, Raven." He handed her a plastic bank card.

"Ohhh…" Raven grinned, staring at the shiny piece of plastic. "What's the limit on it?"

"I just had it increased to 12,000…"

"Thank you Mr. Manning!" Raven was out of the office with the bank card before Manning could finish his sentence. Liz followed Raven as she rushed out of the office.

"Did you get it?" She asked.

"I got it!" Raven waved the card around.

"I can't believe you got it!"

"Manning's such a sap!" Raven laughed. "He just handed it over!" Raven continued walking at a quick pace until she walked into something big. Something very big and bright red in color. "Hi Hellboy." She grinned like a cat that had just eaten the canary and successfully blamed it on the dog and had gotten a bowl of cream for turning the pooch in to the family.

"Hey Red." Liz said.

"Not that I don't believe Manning's a sap, but what are we handin' over here?" Hellboy asked the two girls.

"We're going shopping and we asked to borrow the BPRD credit card and Manning just gave it to me without any questions!" Raven smiled. Hellboy made an impressed face and nodded his head.

"Good job. That man's gonna be sorry he gave that to ya."

"You bet." Raven smiled. Hellboy moved past her to stand in front of Liz.

"Be careful, 'kay?" He whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"I will." Liz agreed. "I have my gun should anything happen." Liz moved her jacket aside to reveal the butt of her handgun sticking out of its holster on her hip.

"Got your badge?" Liz revealed her BPRD badge, modeled to look like a police badge, tucked into her pocket, her BPRD ID on the other side.

"I'm all set, Red."

"Good." Hellboy turned to Raven. "You know how to shoot, right?" He asked the mermaid. She nodded.

"Papa taught me. Why?" Raven asked. Hellboy gave a grunt as a response and walked over to a wall cabinet. He pulled out a gun and a small black leather hip holster and a black leather flip-open badge casing. He walked back over to Raven and handed her the badge casing.

"Temporary BPRD badge. Getcha a full one later." Raven took the badge and stuck it in her front pocket. "Hold that." He handed her a small silver handgun.

"What do I do with it?" She asked.

"Hold it up like you're going to shoot something." Hellboy said.

"Oh!" Raven held up the gun with her right hand so that her aim was aligned with her eye. Her left hand supported the butt of the gun and wrapped around her right hand. Her right index finger sat on the trigger housing. Hellboy studied the fit of the gun in her hands and nodded.

"Impressive." He muttered. "Perfect fit." He tugged the leather holster belt tight, causing it to make a snapping noise. "Hold your arms up." Instead of asking this time, Raven did as she was told as Hellboy fitted the belt around her waist, allowing it to rest on her hips. "All set." He said. Raven held the gun up.

"What caliber is this?"

".22." Hellboy responded.

"Nice. This is the kind I learned to shoot with." Raven turned the gun barrel-down and dropped it into the holster. The weight of the weapon caused the belt to sag a bit, giving Raven that "just walked out of a sci-fi western thriller" appearance, complete with black tank top and loose braid. "Had a nice feel and weight to it. Taurus?"(1)

"Colt semi."(2 & 3) Hellboy said.

"Even better." Raven nodded her approval of her rented weapon. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. If you can dupe Manning into handing over a credit card, you can use that anytime." Hellboy said with a grin.

"Thanks!" Raven smiled.

"Can't deny it, kid, you've got good taste in guns." Hellboy said.

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment and ignore the kid part." Raven said, resting one hand on her hip and the other on the butt of the gun.

"How quick are you on the draw?" Hellboy asked. Before Hellboy could blink, Raven had the gun drawn, loaded, and aimed at his chest, her finger outside of the trigger housing.

"You tell me." Raven said. Hellboy gave her another impressed look and nodded.

"Not half bad." He admitted. "Not half bad." He looked at Liz. "I'm starting to like her." Raven just grinned and dropped her gun back in the holster.

"Ready to go, Liz?"

"Yeah. Aren't you gonna get a jacket or something? It's probably gonna be a little cool up there." Liz asked.

"Didn't come with one. Didn't realize I'd need one." Raven admitted. "It wasn't that cold when I left Nana's." The mermaid shrugged as she looked at the pyro. She picked up the credit card from where she had accidentally dropped it in drawing her gun and stuck it in her temporary-issue badge case. "Let's roll." As Raven and Liz headed out the door, they passed Abe, who stared in shock at the weapon Raven had been entrusted with. As soon as the two girls were gone, he turned to Hellboy. His shout could be heard outside and to the front door.

"YOU GAVE HER A GUN?!" A moment later, another exclamation could be heard, also coming from the _icthyo sapien_. "YOU GAVE HER A CREDIT CARD?!"

* * *

BK93: So Rae admits to having flaws and has excellent knowledge of how to handle a firearm. Is this scaring anyone else at all? (rest of cast raises their hands)

Rae: Oh come _on_, it's unloaded!

Liz: Still not a good thing for you to have a weapon!

BK93: okay, kiddies, chill.

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

(1) Type of gun. I know they make really nice handguns. There's this pink .22 I really like…

(2) Another type of gun that I like. Colt pistols are nii-iice.

(3) A semi refers to a semi-automatic weapon. This means that the gun will automatically chamber the next round after you fire a round, but will not fire more than one round per trigger pull, as opposed to a fully automatic weapon, which automatically chambers the next round after one is fired and will continue firing until the magazine is empty or until the trigger is released. Revolvers are standard semi-autos, and a full auto would be something like an M2 Browning machine gun. Full autos are usually illegal in most of the United States or are restricted to military and police personnel provided they carry a special permit.

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

Here, we saw a side of Liz that we may never see again. OOCs are so much fun.

I'm not sure what the law is in Fairfax, but they just rewrote the law in the city I live in in South Georgia to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons into most public places.

Once again, I'm bending the state of reality. I know you're not allowed to possess or carry a gun without a permit, which in Georgia you have to be twenty-one to get, and as we know, Rae is sixteen. I like to bend reality. No flaming, I know I'm not politically correct.

And I like it that way.

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	4. Raven's Underworld

BK93: WHOOPS! The authoress had one of her classic mishaps. Unfortunately, it looks like I misplaced something in chapter three…

I placed the BPRD in Fairfield, Connecticut, when it's actually in Trenton, New Jersey. Whoops…(people in background pick up building) Moving story! (yelling) Move it out, boys!

Damn Wikipedia…Keep in mind also that if I wrote "Fairfax" I meant "Fairfield," either way it wasn't right, and I was typing at four in the morning.

Anyways, BK93 had a good day today. I got a BPRD shirt from Hot Topic and the novelization of the second movie from Barnes and Noble, and I got the nicest review from Keajo. Happy day!

Enjoy the new chapter! (skips around in a field of flowers)

Hellboy: Okay now she's scaring me.

BK93: Bringing a new meaning to "obsession" since 2004.

* * *

Liz and Raven had wandered the entire mall twice over before they were even halfway done. This, of course, was Raven's idea entirely, "to make sure we didn't miss anything!" as she had explained to Liz three times already. Toting their bags (and their weapons) throughout the mall, the pyro and the mermaid got weird glances from shoppers and security guards alike.

"It's unloaded, folks." Raven announced after being stared at in Macy's for what she felt was a smidge too long. It was a bold-faced lie, of course, having told Liz earlier that "an unloaded weapon is a useless weapon and can get you killed real fast."(1) Liz couldn't argue with that logic and really didn't stop the girl.

"Bullshit it's unloaded." Liz whispered.

"Hell no it ain't, but who cares? Let's keep SHOPPING!" Raven grinned wildly. Liz just smirked and shook her head.

"Yeah."

**--THISISABREAK!--**

"I have the girl in range, sir. Shall I take her down now?" A man hid in the rafters in Macy's as Raven and Liz walked underneath. There was a bit of static coming from his earpiece before his boss responded.

"No. I want to observe her for a little while. Follow her, see who she's with. See who we'll have to contend with."

"She's with Bruttenholm's monster, sir. Davis relayed that to me yesterday. Trenton, New Jersey."

"How is the batty old Broom doing, anyway?"

"He's dead, sir. Stabbed almost a year ago."

"Pity." On the other end of the connection, the brown-haired man in the suit sat across from a shocked Dr. Night, who had been handcuffed to a chair. "Follow the girl."

"10-4."

"Over and out." The man put down the radio.

"Professor…" Dr. Night muttered.

"The professor was like a father to you, wasn't he, Xanthus? He taught you everything you know about the paranormal. You never learned of his death, did you? Don't worry, Xanthus, I assure you, it wasn't me. The professor was an inspiration to us all, especially in the rearing of that beast, _Anung un Rama_."

"Hellboy." Night said softly. "His name is Hellboy, and as long as my Raven is with him, she'll be safe." He told himself. _Good girl, Rae. You got my note. You listened to me for once._ He thought. The brown-haired man laughed.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Doctor. We have agents tracking every move your daughter makes. It won't be long before you see your little girl again."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Night admitted to himself. _Take care of my little girl, Hellboy._ Night closed his eyes and prayed for strength and endurance, and, most importantly, he prayed for his little girl's safety.

_Please, Father God, I beg you… spare my child…_

**--THISISABREAK!--**

"We're ba-ack!" Raven sang as she and Liz, weighed down by many, many shopping bags, dragged themselves into the library. Raven searched through her bags and found one of many bottles of water that had been purchased during the trip from a dollar store in the mall. She twisted the cap off of the fresh bottle and drained it all in under a minute. "Ah. Refreshing." Raven dropped the bottle back into a bag specifically designated to carry the empty water bottles.

"How much did you two spend?" Hellboy asked.

"Enough to piss Manning off." Raven replied. "Gotcha this. It was all Liz's idea, by the way." Raven tossed Hellboy a large cardboard box containing a brand-new turbo power sander and a package of seven different grits of sandpaper. "We took a shortcut through powertools and she picked it out." Hellboy caught the sander and package of sandpaper.

"Thanks, Liz." Hellboy kissed her and walked away, tossing the sander up into the air and catching it. "Mine was about worn out anyway." Hellboy did hang out long enough to witness the exchange that followed. Abe stood in front of his tank, tapping his foot.

"Raven, why do have a gun?"

"Hellboy gave it to me." Raven said innocently. "I figured it was for my own protection."

"And if someone took it from you and shot you with it?"

"I had the safety on!" Raven whined. "Otherwise, that would really suck. I mean, getting shot with your own weapon? That would bite. Trust me, Abe, I might be naïve, but not so naïve as to walk around with a loaded weapon unguarded." She said as she rifled through her bags some more before pulling out two books on the occult and demons and a third, noticeably smaller book. "I got these for you." She said softly, handing them to him. He looked especially at the thinnest book.

"_The Idiot's Guide to Rubik's Cubes_... I'm reading this one first." He said.

"I looked over it. Turns out that all Rubik's Cubes are based on a simple algorithm."

"Figured." Abe said. "Thank you, Rae. Maybe now I'll solve the damn thing."

"Don't get your hopes too high, Blue." Hellboy called out from across the room.

"Ah. One of these days, I'm going to figure it out!"

"Yeah, and I'm the queen of Scotland." Hellboy smiled. Raven gasped and bowed.

"Your Majesty!" She laughed. Abe and Liz couldn't help but laugh, either. Hellboy sneered, then laughed.

"At least someone has faith in me." Abe said.

"That's me. Ms. "I'll-believe-in-any-lost-cause." Nyah!" Raven stuck her tongue out at Abe.

"Hey!" He half-whined indignantly. Raven laughed.

"Awww, how cute are they?" Hellboy teased. Liz couldn't help but chuckle. "He picks at her about her guns, she picks at him about his toys. Almost like they're an old married couple!" Raven gave Hellboy a playful glare.

"Ah, leave 'em be, Red." Liz laughed. Raven had once again snuck off, this time to return the credit card to Manning.

"So, when are you gonna tell her about her father?" Hellboy asked Abe as soon as Raven was out of earshot.

"She knows something's up, Red. She said it was intuition. She also said she doesn't want to know just yet. In time." Abe said. "She's a smart girl. I'll tell her when she thinks she's ready to know."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Hellboy said as Raven walked back into the room.

"You guys aren't conspiring against me in here, are you?"

"Actually, no, we weren't, but we were talking about you." Abe looked at Raven. "Why?"

"My ears were burning." She responded calmly, picking up her shopping bags.

"What?" Hellboy asked.

"When someone talks about you, the tips of your ears burn. Or that's how the old wives' tale goes, anyway." Once Raven had picked up all of her bags, she looked around. "Is there anywhere I can put these where they won't be out in the middle of the way?" She asked everyone in general.

"Yeah. You can stick 'em in the guest bedroom. Show her, Abe." Hellboy said.

"Alright. C'mon, Rae." Abe led Raven to a small back bedroom, where she dumped her bags on the floor and flopped over onto the bed. "Tired…" She muttered.

"It's not even 5:00 yet." Abe reminded her.

"I know." Raven said. The young mermaid rolled over to face Abe.

"If you want to rest, I can leave…" He began.

"I'm not going to sleep. I just needed to get off my feet for a minute. I still have a gun strapped to my hip, don't you know?" Raven pulled out the .22 and aimed at the ceiling. Her arm came back down, her forearm covering her eyes, the gun aimed at the wall. She placed it on the bedside table. "Papa taught me how to shoot a .22 when I was fourteen. He figured the time would one day come when I'd need to defend myself and he wouldn't be there. I know what I'm doing, Abe. Trust me."

"I do, Raven. I just worry." Abe said. Raven laughed.

"Right then, you sounded like Papa. He trusts me, it's just the other people he doesn't trust." Abe sat down on the foot of the bed and Raven sat up. "You look like you have something to tell me, Abe." The two water-breathers exchanged glances. Before either could say anything else, a loud siren began to wail and red lights flashed.

"Finally, some action!" Hellboy yelled happily. Abe hopped off the bed, Raven following.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Time to go to work." Abe said, hurrying out of the room. Raven rummaged through her bags and pulled out a black turtleneck she had purchased at Liz's insistence and popped the tags off of the garment, slipping it over her head and pulling her arms through it. She grabbed the gun and stuck it in her black belt and kicked off her old black skate shoes, substituting them for a pair of low-heeled black cowboy boots. She brushed dust and dirt off of her old dark-wash jeans, figuring she would change them later. Satisfied with her appearance, Raven left the room and joined the BPRD agents, who were suiting up and loading guns as Manning blathered. Abe had situated a pair of large goggles over his blue eyes and a tank of water covered his gills. Hellboy was loading extra rounds into the slots in his belt before cracking open his oversized, custom-made revolver and loading in oversized bullets into the four chambers. He looked over at the suited-up Raven and tossed her a black clip full of rounds.

"You'll need that." He said. Raven stuck the clip in her belt, noting Liz was doing the same, also popping in a flare and two small hand grenades.

"Is she going with you?" Finally, someone acknowledged the babbling bureaucrat.

"I'm not planning on sticking it out here." Raven replied, pulling back the slide at the top of her borrowed .22. She twirled it around her finger and stuck it in its holster. "Stay there and be happy." She patted the gun fondly. "So what's happenin'?" She asked.

"Not sure yet. We usually find out when we get there." Abe said, trying not to stare at Raven, who out of habit bought clothes that blatantly flaunted her assets while keeping them covered, a dead-sexy combination, in Abe's opinion. She was dressed (and armed) to kill. She scratched at where her gills would have been had she changed forms, something that was generally not a good sign. She walked back in to the back bedroom and grabbed a bottle of water before rejoining the group, who were now heading out of the building. No one except Abe seemed to be paying Manning any attention. Raven rolled down her turtleneck as they exited the building and followed the others into the back of a garbage truck-turned-mini-lab. She opened her water bottle and spilled a little into her hand, rubbing it over her gill area. The light blue gills opened up and drank in what they were offered greedily. Raven repeated the process with the other side, tilting her head back and sighing in relief as the itch lessened. Her actions did not go unnoticed, but the only one who seemed to get what she was doing at all was Abe.

"Something wrong, Rae?" He asked as Raven repeated the process on the first side, away from him.

"No, my gills just aren't happy with me." Raven repeated the process on the other side where he could see. The moment the water touched her neck, the gills flared open and absorbed it before pressing back into her neck and all but vanishing, blending in with her skin. If one looked close enough, they could see where a very small portion of the gills remained visible, not noticeable to the untrained eye. Abe watched and noticed them flare out the tiniest bit. They were trying to draw moisture from the air in. Raven was beginning to dehydrate. "I've been out too long and now they're itching." Raven took what remained of the water and downed it quickly, not noticing that the garbage truck had begun the drive to its destination. She tossed the bottle aside and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"Maybe you should have stayed behind. God only knows how long this will take." Abe said worriedly.

"Not long, hopefully, or I'm in trouble." Raven replied. Hellboy shook his massive head.

"Shouldn't take long at all."

_I hope not. _Raven thought. She was already developing the headache and irritability that usually came with her dehydration and she didn't want any of her newfound friends to be on the receiving end of one of her shouting sessions. She left the turtleneck rolled down so that it hopefully wouldn't agitate the already itchy and irritating gills.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

The garbage truck dumped the little group of "freaks," as Manning regularly referred to them, out at an old, abandoned building in downtown Manhattan.

"We've been getting too many reports of people coming near this thing and getting gone for it to be normal."

"And you want us to go in there and shut down whatever's goin' on, right?" Hellboy finished. "Discreetly." He waved his stone hand with a flourish and Manning nodded, handing the demon a handful of Cuban cigars. Hellboy took one out of its wrapper and exchanged the handful of cigars for a Zippo lighter deep in the breast pocket of his overcoat. He flicked open the lighter and ignited it, holding it under the cigar long enough for the tip to catch fire and begin to smoke. He drew in a large breath, puffing out a cloud of smoke. Raven got downwind of Hellboy faster than anyone could blink, Abe joining her. Hellboy held the cigar in between his teeth and looked at his comrades. "Alright, let's get this over with." One by one, the BPRD agents drew their guns and filed in to the building, followed by a group of five FBI agents for support. Raven blended in with the group of BPRD agents and no one said a word to her. Manning waited patiently outside, ready to deal with any of the vulture-like news crews that were bound to show up at some point.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Inside the abandoned apartment building was pitch black dark. Raven's eyes adjusted slightly, still unable to see anyone due to the dark clothes they all wore. Hellboy stood out against the darkness, his red skin giving her some focal point to focus on, the dim ember at the end of his cigar indicating which way the demon was facing. She could also find Abe easily in the dark, as his neck tank gave off the slightest bit of light. She winced as Liz created a small fireball in her palm that spread to be a blue light around her hand. After a moment of thinking, Raven put her gun in its holster.

"Someone cover me real quick and no one move." She said, holding her arms out at her sides to keep from running into things. She carefully walked away from the others, listening to her booted footsteps against the floor. Her footsteps were soon joined by another pair, a light step she immediately recognized as Abe's. Liz had angled her flame towards the pair. Raven had her eyes closed and was listening closely to everything around her as she took step after step. She could hear the steady breathing of the agents and Liz's flame's soft whooshing as it greedily ate up oxygen to keep going. Finally, she heard the sound she wanted.

_Cree-eak._

"There you are." Raven bent down and Abe scanned the area over her with his gun. Raven studied the floorboard beneath her before righting herself. Her next action made everyone jump, including Hellboy. She brought one booted foot into the air and slammed her heel down on the weak point she had found in the floor, creating a loud smashing and cracking noise as the board splintered from the floor and flipped up into the air. Raven knocked it away from her face and put her right hand on her gun. She reached down and pulled on something. Finally, the agents saw the method to her madness. A trapdoor was pulled up through the floor. "Follow me." Gun raised in a defensive position, Raven started down the stairs revealed by the trapdoor, Abe close behind. The other agents followed. At the bottom of the stairs, Raven trained her gun on the darkness, signaling Abe to do the same. As the other agents made their way down the stairs, a soft, gravelly voice sliced through the blackness.

"Who goes there?" It asked. Raven focused on a set of glowing eyes coming from the darkness and lowered her gun, walking forward.

"I am Raven Night, daughter of Dr. Xanthus and Cecelia Night, and a child of the Earth. My company and I intend no harm. May we pass?" As Liz and Hellboy came down the stairs, the light from Liz's flame agitated the creature.

"Take it away! Take it away!" It screeched, not before the group got a glimpse of the creature's flowing, ratty black robes and pale arms guarding its face.

"Liz, extinguish yourself!" Raven called, not taking her eyes off of the area ahead. Liz quickly put the fire on her hand out, plummeting the small, cellar-like room into darkness. A very small light filtered from a vent, illuminating Raven only.

"Who are you?!" The creature screeched in anger.

"Raven Night, daughter of Dr. Xanthus and Cecelia Night, and a child of the Earth. We intend no harm. May we pass?" Raven repeated. Everyone behind her seemed surprised that Raven knew how to deal with the creature. She held her arms out, a sign of peace, still gripping her weapon.

"Drop your weapon, so-called child of the Earth. Come to where I can see you." There was a clatter as Raven tossed her gun to the ground. Abe walked over and picked it up, backing away. "Come forward, pretty child." The creature instructed. Raven began to walk forward when a voice stopped her.

"What if this is some kind of trap?" One of the FBI agents asked.

"Hey, let the kid do what she's gotta do t' get us in there." Hellboy interjected.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Confidently, Raven faced forward and began to walk slowly, until she was enveloped in darkness. There was no sound for a moment, except that of breathing. No one moved.

"The pretty was not lying. The pretty and her friends may pass." Raven emerged from the dark tunnel, untouched. Her left sleeve had been rolled up and Abe could see a small trickle of blood coming from a small puncture wound. Raven looked at the blood flow and pressed her hand over it, really unconcerned by its presence.

"Let's go." She jerked her head towards the tunnel. Behind her, knobby, pale hands came out of the darkness and rested on her shoulders. The creature that had run from the light stepped forward to stand behind Raven.

"The pretty still bleeds." It said. Calmed by Raven, the monster was very childlike and silly.

"I'm fine." The creature stayed behind Raven and manipulated her hand away from the wound.

"The pretty was pressed too hard." Out of habit, most of the agents kept their guns trained on the creature. Its fingers wiped over the wound and went back to its mouth and it greedily lapped up Raven's blood. "Her blood is sweet. She was not lying." It pressed its finger over the wound again and applied a little pressure. Raven winced and let out a small groan of pain at the pressure on her arm. The creature removed its finger and Raven's wound was healed.

"Thank you." Raven looked up at the other agents as she rolled down her sleeve. "This is Bayel, the gatekeeper." Raven explained. "She had to make sure we weren't lying." The creature known as Bayel nodded enthusiastically.

"Bayel pricks and tastes. Blood is sweet, safe. Blood is bitter, not safe." Bayel patted Raven's shoulder. "Pretty is safe."

"Thank you, Bayel. Let's go." Raven headed down the dark corridor, followed closely by Bayel and the agents.

"Where is the pretty's father? He is not present." Bayel said.

"He will visit you soon, Bayel."

"The pretty is very nice." Bayel patted her shoulder again and ran ahead, pulling open a large steel door. "Pretty behave."

"I will." Raven entered through the doorway, turning to Abe to take her gun back. The others couldn't help but stare at the creature as they filed past. Last to go in was Hellboy, who found himself being stopped by Bayel.

"_Anung un Rama_." She whispered.

"Yeah, I am."

"You will destroy them all."

"Trust me, I know." Hellboy said, entering behind Liz. Bayel closed the door behind them. The agents stared in amazement at the surreal world around them. It seemed so much bigger than the apartment complex above it and went on for miles.

"Welcome to the underground, gentlemen." Raven smiled. "Home, sweet second home. I used to come down here all the time. You can put the guns up. Most people come in here and never leave because they're either mutants or trolls or hybrids like me that don't want to go back out and endure the human world. They like it down here, and they abide by their own laws and abide by the human laws while in the surface world." Raven began down another set of stairs leading down into the "town" of sorts. Immediately, she was greeted by a hag in a dusty brown cloak.

"Raven, child! So nice of you to come visit us! Where, pray tell, is that dear father of yours? I had a question I was hoping to ask him." She said sweetly.

"Papa's in Austria, Meridii. He won't be back for a few weeks." Raven replied just as sweetly.

"Oh." The hag looked a little put down. "Will he come by to visit?"

"Bayel just asked me the same thing. I'll make sure he does." Raven said. "Bayel, that poor dear, seems to be going a little stir-crazy."

"I'll be sure to go visit her!" The hag smiled.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate the company." Raven said. "I have to go, Meridii. I'm giving a tour." Raven gestured to the stunned FBI and BPRD agents.

"Very well. Go give your tour, Raven." Raven looked back at the group.

"Well, come on. There's someone else I want you to meet." She continued onward with a smile on her face, obviously enjoying their bewilderment. "My papa started this a few years ago. He's the leaseholder on the building up there. That's why it's not long gone."

"You knew the entire time?" Hellboy asked.

"Pretty much."

"Then why the "cover me" rouse?" Abe asked.

"Had to keep you guys in the dark until we got here. No one's supposed to know about this place. No one. You can't tell anybody!"

"Alright, we won't tell." Liz agreed. The FBI agents nodded.

"Alright, let's go!" Raven started down one street, the group following closely. She stopped at one building and knocked a pattern on an old wooden door with an eye slit, leaning up against it. After a moment, a patterned knock came back. Raven knocked a new pattern and got off of the door and the eye slit slid open. "Peek-a-boo, sweetheart." She smirked. "Xanthus sent me." She said.

"Who're the goons?"

"They're with me. So are the chick, the blue guy, and the horn-head. You gonna let us in?"

"Yes ma'am." The creature behind the door said, speaking with a heavy Italian accent. The eye slit slid closed and tumblers and locks were undone before the door was opened. The interior of the building was dimly-lit and dank, filled with boxes and crates.

"Hey Tony." She smiled and grabbed the large monster's hand and bumped shoulders with him.

"Hey Rae. I'll let Frankie know you're here."

"Naw, don't bother. I wanna sneak up on him."

"You know Frankie don't like that, Miss Rae." Tony said. Raven leaned closer to the monster.

"Exactly." She whispered. She looked at the group. "Stay close. You don't wanna get lost in here." Raven headed through and open doorway and faced another monster guarding a set of steel doors. "Hey Billie."

"Hey Rae." He opened one of the doors. "Madam."

"Thanks. Ignore the suits, they're my guests."

"Yes, Miss Rae." Raven walked into the room, brightly lit with many different-colored lights. Obscenely loud dance music filled the room. Demons, monsters, and hags were gathered at several of the club's bars or littered the dance floor and booths and tables. Raven made her way through the club, peeling out of her black turtleneck to reveal her same old black tank.

"It's always so freakin' hot in here." She said, tucking the turtleneck into her belt. She took a curious-looking clear drink off of a tray and downed it. "Don't worry, it was water!" She called over the music. Raven couldn't help but sway a bit to the music, something that did not go unnoticed by Abe. Raven dropped the empty glass on another tray and headed up a flight of stairs. She turned to the group and shushed them before opening the door.

"HEY FRANKIE!" She shouted, tackling the chair a large demon was sitting in.

"Dammit Raven! I told yous to quit that!" Frankie protested.

"Aww, but Frankie, baby, it's so much fun!" Raven babbled with the demon for a little while. After she was done talking, she turned back to the group. "Ready to leave yet?" All of them nodded.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Back in the surface world, Manning was waiting anxiously when the group came back out.

"Taken care of." Raven announced.

"Discreetly." Hellboy added. "No one even noticed we were here."

"Good." Manning said. He was his usual self that asked no questions because he didn't really care. "As long as it was taken care of."

"It was." Abe vouched for Raven and Hellboy.

"See?" Hellboy pointed to Abe and got in the back of the gutted garbage truck. Raven, Liz, and Abe followed.

"Does anyone have a bottle of water?" Raven asked. She looked a bit pale and had put her turtleneck back on to hide the red marks created by scratching on her neck. She held her head and had to sit down. "Somebody tell the guy with the jackhammer to lay off."(2) She said woozily.

"Are you alright, Rae?" Abe asked, kneeling down beside the girl. He removed one black leather glove and placed his hand on her shoulder. "She's dehydrating! We have to hurry!" Abe then snapped his fingers. His idea would be a risk, but it was better than the alternative- Raven becoming ill. He popped off his neck tank and handed it to Raven.

"What about you?" She wheezed.

"I'll be alright for a little while." Abe replied. "You need it more than I do right now." Raven gave him a soft smile.

"Thanks." Abe carefully helped her hook the tank around her slender neck. It was just a mite too big, but it would work. Raven's gills opened up and she took a deep, gasping breath. The water flooded through her system and she visibly relaxed. Abe's noble action definitely did not go unnoticed by anyone. Being exposed to the outside air was a big risk to his health.

_Great._ Manning thought as he closed the back of the garbage truck and gave it a quick thump to signal the driver to go. _The fish sticks are falling in love. Maybe now they can team up and keep the monster out of my hair_.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Back in the BPRD building, Raven and Abe quietly floated in Abe's tank, Abe reading his new Rubik's Cube book and Raven floating to allow the liquid to return to her starved gills. They enjoyed each other's company in complete silence, Vivaldi filling the small library.

"Hey, Abe?" Raven finally spoke.

"Yes?" Abe didn't take his eyes away from the book as he replied. Raven gave one kick with her silver tail and swam over to where he was. She floated beside him, her hands clasped behind her back.

"What you did back there…in the truck…" Raven's lips touched Abe's in a soft kiss. "Thanks."

Had Abe not been an amphibious creature, he would have drowned.

* * *

BK93: How cute! Teehee. I like being the writer.

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

(1) That's something my dad says a lot. That and "If you try bluffing with an unloaded weapon you're as good as dead." And my mom agrees with him!

(2) If anyone can guess the movie and who said it, they get a digital cookie! Kudos to hellbutterfly421 for getting the last reference quote in chapter 2, which came from Colonel Roy Mustang from the anime _Fullmetal Alchemist._ I'll give you a hint: it was one of the first movies to combine live-action footage with computer graphics and was very ahead of its time when it was made. Got it yet?

**UNNUMBERED NOTES**

Yeah, this turned out to be longer than I thought it would be, but there was a lot I wanted to do, because just to have Rae and Liz shop for an entire chapter would bore everyone to tears, even me, the authoress. Instead, we find out that Rae and her father are involved in a city in Manhattan's underground. That a little more interesting? We also get a jump on Rae and Abe's slowly-developing relationship. Yippee!

Hope you liked reading it as much as I liked typing it!

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	5. Alcohol and Admitting

BK93: Busy busy busy…writing chapters! I need a life…

But if I had a life, I wouldn't be here writing!

RENEWING THE **DISCLAIMER!: I DO NOT OWN HELLBOY**. I don't own the rights to the movie, the comic, nothing. All I have is a BPRD tee-shirt and the novelization of the second movie. The suits that made me say this represent the people that do own Hellboy, which I am not one of and will never be one of, so THERE! Sue THAT, bish!

* * *

After that night, Abe seemed closer to Raven than ever. They were almost always together. Today, both were in the library, listening to Mozart and reading. Abe floated quietly in his tank and Raven was stretched out between two leather chairs she had pulled close to the tank. Both looked content. No one else in the BPRD bothered to question the blossoming love. Abe, of course, was still a little clueless as to love, and Raven let him borrow her favorite romance novel to try and help explain things. He was having trouble reading the "romancy" parts, but Raven had convinced him it would do him some good.

Then again, it had only been three days, but in those three days, they were practically inseparable.

Today was no exception. Raven quietly read another new romance novel, something she went through like a termite through wood. Abe was reading different books on the arcane, alternating between each one, until Manning came in.

"Hey, fish sticks, what actually went down in Manhattan three days ago? No one else will tell me." Raven was the first to look up. Abe chuckled slightly, for he could tell the girl was perturbed by the way her eye twitched ever so slightly. She plucked her Ace of Spades bookmark from the back of the book and marked her place before closing the book.

"First of all, we're not fish sticks. Last I checked, those were on aisle three in Kroger. They're nice, they come in party packs, too, and secondly, that's on a need-to-know basis only, and you don't need to know." Manning fumed and Raven smirked.

"Seriously, what happened?"

"Like I said, you don't need to know." Raven propped her feet back up in the other chair and opened her book again. Manning growled and Raven raised an eyebrow. "Really? Please." She looked back at her book. Manning stormed away angrily. Abe couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, he don't like me, I don't like him. Simple as that." Raven said, going back to her book. "Riddle me this, Abe. Why do they always come in and bug me at the best part?" Raven asked. Abe shrugged.

"I'd chalk it up to bad timing." Raven stretched her arms, still holding her book, and Abe couldn't help but stare at her. By God, she was the most gorgeous thing he had ever laid eyes on. She was a skinny little thing, but shapely and perfectly curved for her short stature. Her light skin was in sharp contrast with her very dark hair and her turquoise eyes sparkled when she laughed. Her face was as delicate as her frame, with rounded, high cheekbones, a small, button nose, and almond-shaped eyes. Raven quietly cracked her neck before going back to her book. The peace of the library was once again breached, this time by Hellboy, who was actually a welcomed presence. Raven closed her book once again, deciding that no one in the building was going to let her finish it, and set it aside before looking up at Hellboy with one of her "I'm-pissed-off-but-going-to-let-you-bug-me-anyway" smiles. While Hellboy was slightly creeped out by the look she gave him, he continued with his thought.

"Okay, who pissed off Manning and how much do I owe them?" Hellboy laughed.

"What happened, Hellboy?"

"Ah, he just tripped and rolled down a flight of stairs. Nothing big." Raven and Abe gasped.

"Is he alright?" Abe asked in slight shock.

"Yeah he'll be fine." Hellboy replied rather uncaringly. "Still funny as hell." Raven nodded in agreement. "Celebratory beer, anyone?" He asked, holding up the six-pack he held in his left hand.

"I'll have one." Raven said.

"Too bad. You're underage." Abe objected.

"I'm done growing, Abe. Won't hurt nothing." Raven said as she accepted a can of Budweiser from Hellboy and cracked it open. She chased the resulting foam down the can with her tongue and moaned happily. "Papa used to let me have one every now and then. I'm fonder of Miller Chill, but a beer is a beer." Raven said, taking a swig. "Mmmhh…" Hellboy turned to Abe.

"C'mon, out of the tank. Have a beer." Hellboy tapped the aluminum can against the wall of Abe's aquatic home. Abe refused.

"I don't drink." He said defiantly.

"It's high time you stared. Besides, I'm on the 2:10 to Drunksville myself, and someone needs to be out here to keep an eye on the kid." Hellboy had just handed Abe a piece of logic he couldn't argue with: if the demon was drunk, who would be there to make sure Raven didn't get drunk and hurt herself? Silently admitting defeat, Abe left the safety of his home, greeted outside by a cold can of Bud being pressed against his bare chest by a massive red hand. Abe took the can reluctantly and sat down beside Raven, who had moved from her chair to the floor with Hellboy. In the time it took Abe to decide whether to open his can or not (he chose the latter of the two), three others were missing from the six-pack. A second six-pack had managed to show itself, having apparently been in the demon's other hand when he entered. Raven drank another after her original one, and Hellboy had two himself. Abe hadn't touched the beer he had been given. He noticed that after two, Raven had stopped drinking. Hellboy cracked open another beer and looked at Raven. "Want another?" His voice was beginning to slur and he dropped another can in front of the slightly-inebriated mermaid.

"Nah." Raven said. "I'm a light-weight. One more and whoo! Bye-bye Rae." Raven pushed away the third can she was offered. She began to stand up and Abe got behind her to catch her if she fell. Lucky for her that he was there, otherwise she would have fallen over. Instead, Raven fell backwards against his chest. He hooked his arms under hers to keep her from sliding back to the floor.

"I think we already went bye-bye, Rae." He said. "Where are you wanting to go?"

"Back to the guest room. I need a nap." Raven said.

"Alright." Abe ducked under one of her arms and held it around her shoulders, his other arm around her waist, his hand on her hip, to keep her up. "C'mon." He helped Raven up and to the back bedroom. She staggered and stumbled all the way there before falling down in the bed.

"Nighty-night." She said, curling up into a little ball and closing her eyes. Abe couldn't help but laugh.

"You rest, Rae." He said. The moment Abe closed the door behind himself, he sighed. _I'm ready for that beer now, I think._ He thought, rejoining his best friend in the library. Hellboy and Raven had already dispensed of the first six-pack and the second one was nearly gone. Abe's can still sat in front of the glass wall of the tank. He sat down and picked it up, staring at the silver aluminum can before finally popping it open and taking a sip. The amber liquid was strong and 

burned his tongue and throat, and the taste almost made him gag. He set the can back down and looked at Hellboy, who was on his fifth beer. Abe shook his head.

"How do you drink this stuff?" He asked, picking his can back up and holding it in the air in front of him.

"Easily. Like this." Hellboy held up his can, waved it around for a moment, and drained it quickly. "Kinda like breathing, only you don't breathe while you're drinking, 'cause that _hurts_…" He said, throwing the can over his shoulder. The can joined a pile of similar empty, crushed cans. He opened his sixth beer. "Somethin' on your mind, Blue?" Even totally smashed, Hellboy was observant.

"I was just thinking…" He began.

"About Rae?" Hellboy asked.

"How did you know?"

"It's all over your face, Blue. You wear your heart on your sleeve." Boy, Hellboy couldn't be any more wrong. Most of the time, the amphibian was unreadable, almost unfeeling. Abe, however, didn't try to correct his drunken friend. "You like her, don't you?" Abe took a moment to think before answering.

"I do."

"Then what's the issue? Tell the kid how you feel."

"That's exactly the issue, Hellboy. She's only sixteen, she's still so very young, and I'm so very…old." Abe said, lacking a better way to explain it. "I've got at least two and a half centuries on her via that note from when I was found, and there's no telling how much longer I was in there than that." Hellboy snorted. "What?" Abe asked, quietly taking another small sip of the beer, finding this time that he liked the taste. _Maybe just a few more sips…_

"Blue, I'm something over sixty, and Liz is in her twenties. Do you think we care? Do you think age matters when it comes to love?"

"No, but…"

"But what?" Hellboy interrupted.

"Raven's only sixteen. She's at the age where her hormones decide what she wants for her. How do I know if she actually loves me or if it's just hormones?"

"How do you know the kid even has hormones? She was created in a lab, not born, you know." Abe gave Hellboy a small glare.

"If she didn't have hormones, she never would've grown from the size of an infant." He deadpanned.

"Touch-y." Hellboy slurred. He went to drink his seventh beer, which Abe calmly pushed away from his face. "She's still pretty small." He said, drinking the beer anyway.

"That could be genetics." Abe argued. _She's not small, she's perfect._ He thought, taking another sip of the beer.

"If you love the girl, it shouldn't matter."

"I know, it's just so confusing, and Raven's book isn't helping much at all!"

"That's because it's a prissy little romance novel that, converted into film form, could be considered porn." Hellboy replied, getting up. "You mull, I'm gonna go be drunk in my room." As the demon staggered away, Abe did just that. Did he really feel for Raven the way he thought he did? Did she really feel for him the way he thought she did? Poor Abe was just so confused, and the beer wasn't helping him think at all. Quietly, he gathered up the cans Hellboy had left behind and dumped them into the nearest trash can, including his nearly-full can. He looked up at the clock on the wall and decided to check on Raven. Although it had only been about ten minutes, Abe had learned quickly that drunken people were capable of very stupid things in short periods of time. He knocked on Raven's door quietly.

"Rae? Are you alright in there?" He asked.

"Just peachy." Raven said, her voice strained.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"Sure, yeah." Raven called back through the door. He heard her grunt and knew she was struggling with something as he opened the door.

Even centuries of existence and fighting the paranormal couldn't have prepared Abe for what he saw. Raven stood with her back to the vanity mirror, shirtless and struggling to apply a sort of salve to a large red mark running the width of her thin back. Abe quickly ducked behind the door, his face burning red hot. Though her most important parts were still covered by her bra, the expanse of lily-white skin he had just seen was still unsettling. Raven didn't at all seem to care that he had seen her shirtless. "I was actually hoping you could help me with this." She called. "I can't reach!" Tentatively, Abe stuck his head through the door again.

_Oh God…_He gaped at the angel in front of him. Her pale skin practically glowed in the soft light cast by the table lamp, the overhead fan light having been deemed too bright by its user. From his side-view angle, he could see the way her breasts rose outward and curved back in to her body beautifully. Her stomach was flat, and, much to his chagrin, his eyes continued their trip downward, over a pair of broad hips and a flat pelvis covered by a rolled-down pair of navy blue Soffe shorts to her seemingly endlessly-long legs. He almost slapped himself to bring himself back into the present. Raven had asked him for help and he was gawking at her. He slipped through the door and closed it behind him.

"What did you need help with?" He asked, still mesmerized by the goddess before him.

"I bought some scar-fading cream when Liz and I went shopping and I can't reach! Liz's been helping me put it on but I didn't want to be a burden…" Abe took the cream from Raven and looked at the scar in question, amazed that whatever had caused it didn't kill or paralyze her. He also found himself deeply annoyed by what could have caused this and whether or not it was intentionally inflicted to his beautiful mermaid's back.

Wait…_his_ mermaid? He liked the sound of that. Abe viciously shook his head to relieve his mind of his negative thoughts. He looked over the scar again. It was an impressive scar, and he couldn't help but wonder how she came by it.

"How did you get this?" He asked. "If you don't mind my asking." Quietly, he opened the jar and began to apply the thick white cream to Raven's scar. She hissed at the sudden could feeling.

"It's alright." Raven said, wincing at the cold against the scar, which was still a bit tender even after years of having it. "Papa was running diagnostics one day when I was thirteen and the glass tube I was in shattered. I fell on the glass. The doctors said it was a miracle I didn't die." Abe looked closer at Raven's back and noticed other small, jagged scars peppering her back around the larger one. "I hit my head on one piece, too." Raven felt around on the back of her head and found another scar, lifting her dark hair so that Abe could see it. "There was so much blood…I passed out. They gave me blood transfusions for a week."

"It must have been painful." Abe said.

"I really don't remember it that well. They gave me morphine for it. Papa told me about it when I woke up three days later. I was in a coma for a week. They told Papa I wasn't going to live. It's taken me two years to heal and get it to go down. It used to be much bigger." Raven could still feel his fingers on her back and was comforted by the almost-caress. Raven sighed and Abe noticed his hand still on her. He pulled it away quickly, as if burned. Raven pouted at the loss of the slight warmth on her back, something that went unnoticed by Abe as he screwed the lib back on the jar of scar fade cream and set in on the dresser. He didn't look at Raven again, afraid he wouldn't be able to keep a reign on his negative thoughts if he did. He heard the rustling of fabric and looked up to see that she had slipped her tee-shirt back on and had a particular look of misery on her face.

"Is something wrong, Rae?" He asked. Raven shook her head and ran her fingers through her loose black hair, willing it to fall freely down her back. Her hair hid her face as a single tear make a track down her face and fell onto the carpet. Her head hanging, Raven walked over to the bed and sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest. Abe walked over and sat down beside her, placing a hand on her back. Her emotions flowed through him. She missed her father. She was worried about him. Raven's head rested on her knees, successfully hiding her tearful face from Abe. "Raven." He lifted her head up by slipping two fingers under her chin and made her look at him. "We'll find him. Don't worry, we'll find him." Raven sniffled before bursting into full-on sobs, scooting closer to Abe and burying her face against his chest, hugging him around his waist. Abe held Raven and allowed her to cry.

"I-I don't even know if he's alive or not. I don't know where he is, I don't know anything, Abe! Anything!" Raven sobbed out. She scrubbed at her puffy, red eyes with the back of one hand. "I thought I'd like it better not knowing, but I don't!" Abe rocked her as he held her close.

"Shh, shh, you're alright. Calm down." Raven hyperventilated as she cried, finally crying herself out. Only dry sobs remained as she rested her head in Abe's lap, closing her eyes. The poor child had cried herself to sleep. Thank goodness the bed was pressed up against the far wall, giving Abe something to lean against as he comforted the girl and stroked her feather-soft black hair. She was curled up close to him, one hand resting on his thigh, the other curled up under her, resting against her chest. Abe closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, his fingers tangled in her dark hair. _Tomorrow._ He vowed silently. _I'll tell her tomorrow._ The pair of sleeping water-breathers was found hours later by Liz and Hellboy, who left them alone with smiles on their faces.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

The next day, Abe told Raven what had become of her father. He was locked up in Austria by groups unknown and they were devising a plan to save him. Raven, of course, did what most young girls would do if they would out that their father was being held hostage by some madman in Austria: she fainted. Poor Abe was so confused by Raven's reaction that he freaked out and ended up not watching where he was walking and walking straight into a closed door. Really, the entire spectacle was quite humorous, humor put aside when Liz explained to a dizzy Abe that Raven was just overwhelmed. Abe nodded in understanding before seeking out an ice pack and some ibuprofen for his throbbing head. Hellboy suggested beer, the mere thought of which made Abe nauseous. He ended up back in the safety of his tank, away from the beer, with a large bag of ice, three ibuprofen in his system, and Vivaldi to calm his fraying nerves. Raven, after waking, spent most of her time in the tank with Abe, confused and upset, seeking her new-found amphibious friend for comfort, and he couldn't have been more honored that Raven trusted him enough to allow her heart to be unguarded and her emotions uninhibited around him, allowing him to see her at her weakest moments. She was so completely carefree in expressing herself that it was almost beautiful. It was just one more thing he liked about her, he decided. He was easily growing more and more attached to her with each passing hour, and while they weren't openly affectionate, the other two BPRD agents knew that agent Abe Sapien had finally found someone he deeply cared for, and that might just return his affections, and that he couldn't be happier. The hard part was getting the pair to admit that they were head-over-heels in love with each other instead of playing coy. One thing that both Hellboy and Liz noticed was that both water-breathers thoroughly enjoyed staring at each other when the other wasn't looking. Raven was quite fascinated by Abe's appearance, studying the strange color of his blue-green, scaly skin and the black marks that patterned themselves across his body. More than once, Raven had to smack herself for wondering if the black markings expanded farther than just on his head, arms, and upper torso, and, like a hormonal teenage girl often wonders about a boy she likes, she wondered what it would be like to have sex with him, often turning an interesting color of red and separating herself from Abe altogether until she had her mind back in working order. Unbeknownst to her, Abe was having similar problems. Abe quite often found himself staring at both Raven's mermaid and human form. As a mermaid, her body was sleek and streamlined for faster swimming time, while as a human, she was wonderfully curved and beautifully shaped, as if a master sculptor had sat down for hours, no, _days_ on end to make a statue of absolute perfection and achieved Raven as a result. It was like someone had hit him hard with a ten-ton flat of bricks and all he could see was her. If neither of the two did something soon, Liz and Hellboy were bound and determined to do something to get them to realize that they were crazy about each other.

Until then, all they could do was wait and hope that the realization came soon.

One half of the soon-to-be couple finally exposed her feelings to Liz over a carton of ice cream and a chick flick that night. Raven had discovered that a small TV was hidden in her room in a bureau across from her bed. With some help from Hellboy, the two girls turned the bed to accommodate them both comfortably as they chowed down on ice cream and watched a movie one of the channels had been running.

"Hey, Liz?" Raven said at about the middle of the movie.

"Yeah?"

"If I tell you something, will you swear to keep it a secret until the end of your life?"

"Sure, what?"

"I really like Abe. A lot."

"You've told me already." Liz informed her.

"Yeah, but I meant it. I really, really do. I even…" Raven turned bright pink and lowered her voice. "I kissed him a few days ago."

"Cheek or mouth-to-mouth?" Liz inquired.

"Mouth-to-mouth." Raven admitted. Liz gaped.

"Serious?" Raven nodded.

"After what he did for me in the back of the truck on the way back from underground, I couldn't think of any other way to thank him. It's a long ride from point A to point B, and he actually needs water more than I do. He was really sweet, so I thanked him. And then I kissed him. Either that or I kissed him, then thanked him." Raven said. Liz was beaming. This was definitely one of the steps she and Hellboy had been hoping for.

"Rae, that's so cute!" She smiled, eating another mouthful of ice cream. "You know, it's really great having you here. I can let loose and be a girl." She said around the ice cream.

"Aww, thanks!" Raven smiled. "I never had any friends when I was younger, so you guys are really my first real friends, and maybe Abe will be my first real boyfriend!" Raven squealed. Liz smiled.

"Maybe."

* * *

BK93: After the last chapter, I just kinda wanted one big silly chapter to show a bit of progression in Raven and Abe's relationship. Fun fun.

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

THERE WERE NO NUMBERED COMMENTS MADE IN THIS CHAPTER.

I think…

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

Well, that's about the cheesiest scene you'll ever see from me, with a mix of emotional distress to keep it interesting. I'm figuring out the next chapter, it may or may not have more to do with Rae's father. Dunno yet.

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	6. Bloom

BK93: Sleepy…starting new chapter at 5:23 in the blessed AM…no life, no sleep…

Abe: It's your own fault you don't get any sleep.

BK93: Don't make me break out the can of fish food and hit you with it again…

This is the chapter where the story earns its T rating. Heehee.

* * *

Another day came and went in the BPRD building with little reportable action. Liz and Raven spent a little more time bonding while at a local laundromat and Abe tried to figure out a way to tell Raven he was in love with her. It was now late into the night and everyone was asleep. Everyone except for a restless Abe. He thought about telling Raven how he felt poetically and had spent most of the night going over old romantic poems to recite to her, if she was the poetry kind of gal. With his mind set on telling her, Abe got out of his tank, dried himself, and hurried for Raven's room. In the dark, he instead knocked into something, causing it to fall backwards and him to fall on top of it. The "it" let out a squeal of shock as it was hit and a groan of pain as it hit the floor. Abe's hands searched for the floor and found something soft instead. Whatever was underneath him was soft, yet firm and warm and felt like satin. He heard a squeal of protest when he pushed himself up and a firm hand slapped him across the mouth.

"Abe?" A voice chirped. Abe stumbled to his feet and searched the wall for the light switch. He flicked the lights on to find Raven sitting on the floor, her arms crossed over her breasts, wearing a slightly revealing peach satin nightgown.

"Raven?" As his eyes warily traced the area of her chest revealed by the "v" in her nightgown, he noticed that the area around her left breast was red. _That's what I was pressing on?_ His face heated. "Good gracious, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…" Abe carefully extended a hand to help her up, pulling the girl to her feet. Raven still kept her arms over her chest after he righted her. "What are you doing up this late?" He asked, trying to cover up his blunder.

"I could ask you the same thing. I was about to come sit in there with you if you were still up, and the next thing I know, I'm on the floor with you squeezing my boob." Raven said, looking down at the reddened, sore flesh. Abe's face currently rivaled the Sun for heat.

"I'm very sorry, Rae, I had no idea you were still up…I had hoped…That was completely inappropriate of me. Forgive me." Abe turned and walked away in complete embarrassment and shame.

"Abe, wait." Raven called out. Abe turned around to see Raven no longer had her arms covering her chest. One hung down by her side, the other crossed her stomach. Her face was a bit pink compared to the mortified red it had been when he turned on the light. "'S not a really big deal…just hurt a little…" She shifted from foot to foot uneasily, like she was ready to bolt.

"Rae? You look like you have something to tell me." Abe walked back over to Raven, not touching her for fear of hurting her again. Raven walked closer to Abe, whose first instinct was to back away, which he ignored in this instance. Something felt right about her being so close, yet something felt wrong about it as well. His gentlemanly instinct told him strictly not to look at her, that she was underdressed to be in his company, while something else told him to stare, to drink in her beauty and drown in it. As she got closer, he felt her hands on his shoulders as she raised herself on tiptoe to kiss him. Her lips sought out his as her arms snaked around his neck. His hands started on her hips to try and help balance her before looping around her waist to keep her close to him, one hand coming up to hold her head. Raven surrendered herself completely to him, and he surrendered himself to her. They were at the complete mercy of one another, never wanting to break apart until they were forced to by a noise that startled the both of them. Hellboy cleared his throat. Raven and Abe jumped apart, Raven's face bright red.

"'Scuse me…" She whispered, ducking back into her bedroom and shutting the door forcefully. Abe turned to Hellboy, who was smirking.

"'Bout time." He said. Abe fumed.

"You had to pick then to come out here? Dammit, Red!" Abe said, frustrated. He would've run his hands through his hair, if he had any hair, that is. The sexually-frustrated amphibian glared at his best friend. He and Raven were finally ready to admit themselves to each other and he _ruined it._

"Didn't realize. Get a room next time. Sorry, Blue." Hellboy patted his friend's shoulder apologetically and walked past him. Abe sighed and rapped on Raven's door.

"Rae? May I come in?" No, he may not, his conscience told him. He had caused the poor girl enough humiliation for one night. He should just leave her be until morning, he thought. But that wouldn't be good, either. She would think he didn't love her, or she would think him rude for not apologizing for humiliating her. Finally, an answer came.

"Yes." Abe opened the door to find that Raven was tying her robe on over her nightgown. _No, don't do that._ His addled mind pleaded. _Let me see you._ She was blushing. _Coy little she-devil. You weren't so shy a moment ago…_ Abe shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts, replacing them with ones like _Good, she's decent now._

"That was…embarrassing." Raven admitted quietly. Abe nodded in agreement. There was an awkward pause (a common thing between them) before Abe spoke, his voice firm.

"Listen, Raven, I came down to tell you something, and I intend to tell you." Abe turned around to make sure the door was closed and locked against further interruptions.

"What're you doing, Abe?" Raven asked.

"Making sure what happened in the hallway doesn't happen again. I want no interruptions this time." He said. He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. Finally, all embellishments aside, Abe let the truth out. "Raven, I seem to find myself absolutely in love with you, and if you don't feel the same way, it's alright, but you must feel something because of what just happened out there." He closed his eyes and waited for her response. He felt it rather than heard it. She kissed him again, without as much fervor as before, but with the same spark of passion.

"I do feel the same way." She said softly, leaning against him. Abe wrapped his arms around her, his hands crossing at her stomach and latching on. Raven turned her head and started up to kiss him again, one of her hands latched on top of his, the other crawling up to hold the side of his face. He met her halfway. Kissing was new to the both of them, neither really knowing what to do. When they finally separated again, they were breathless and smiling. Raven panted like she had just run a marathon, trying to regain her breath as she spoke. "Out there…in the hallway…that was my…first kiss." She admitted shyly.

"What about in the tank a few days ago?" Abe asked, looking inquisitive.

"It doesn't count if he doesn't kiss back." She said matter-of-factly. Abe smirked.

"Was it anything like you imagined it would be?" He asked.

"No…" She said, and Abe looked a little down-hearted. She gave him another chaste kiss, which he immediately decided he didn't like, due to its short duration, and Raven smiled. "It was way better."(1) Abe smiled at hearing this.

"Let me see if I can do it again." Abe smirked devilishly and Raven giggled.

"Abraham, you charmer!" She said playfully. "Mmmhh…" She moaned happily as she was kissed again.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Raven didn't know when in the night she made it to the bed, or how, but somehow woke up in a tangle of covers, feeling incredibly warm and content. When she tried to move, however, she found a long blue arm weighing her down around her middle. She would've screamed before remembering who the arm belonged to. Abe was sleeping soundlessly behind her, causing Raven to quickly evaluate her current state of dress. She still had her nightgown on, and, though haphazardly close to coming undone, her robe was still on. She peeked under the blankets to make sure Abe was still wearing pants (he was) and came to the conclusion that nothing had happened between them past the kissing. They had just somehow ended up in her bed together. To sleep. Raven didn't really question it that much, because she really didn't care. Not wanting to wake the sleeping Abe, Raven resettled herself and closed her eyes. Her attempt to get back to sleep was interrupted by a heavy pounding on the door.

"Rae, you up yet? It's almost 2:00!"

_Oh shit…_ Raven thought. _If he finds us like this we'll never hear the end of it. _Raven threw the covers over Abe's head to hide him.

"Can I come in?" The demon didn't wait for a response before entering the bedroom. "You haven't seen Blue lately, have ya? Can't find him anywhere." Raven's face turned hot pink as Abe groaned and sat up. Hellboy gave the pair an interesting look of intrigue and somewhat-happiness. "Hey, Blue." He smirked.

"Morning, Red." Abe looked from Hellboy to Raven and then back to Hellboy. "Red?!" He threw the covers back over himself, as if to try to make the demon forget he was there. Hellboy laughed.

"Busted, fish stick!" He laughed."It's about damn time!" Raven looked absolutely mortified and wished she could disappear. Either that or she wished the demon didn't exist. One or the other would be nice. Hellboy continued to laugh as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. _I have got to tell Liz…_

"Is he gone?" Abe poked his head out.

"It's too late, Abe, he knew you were here. He saw you, dummy." She paused for a moment. "Do you think he thinks we…?" Raven didn't finish her sentence, proving how modest and shy the young girl really was.

"If he does, I'll set him straight." Abe slipped down off the foot of the bed, having been trapped between Raven and the wall. Raven got out of the bed and adjusted her robe before walking over to Abe and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks for giving me my first kiss." She said with a shy, pretty smile. "And each subsequent kiss that followed." Abe wasn't really sure what to say.

"Um…You're welcome?"

"Blue, Rae! We've got something out here!" Hellboy shouted. Raven and Abe rushed out of Raven's room to meet Liz, Hellboy, Manning, and two armed guards. Liz held a creased piece of white printer paper in her hands, reading silently with Hellboy reading over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" Raven asked. Liz handed Raven the note without a word, a look of concern on her face. Raven read it, Abe reading over her shoulder.

_You have something I want, and I have something you want. Surrender the mermaid and I won't kill the doctor. You have three days to bring her to me at the enclosed location in Vienna, Austria, or Dr. Night suffers the consequences._

Raven's eyes teared up as she read. "Papa…" She whimpered. Her look hardened and she closed her eyes, refusing to cry anymore. Now was the time she had to be strong. "Pack your bags, people. You're taking me to Vienna." Everyone looked shocked.

"You're just going to give in?" Manning asked incredulously.

"What other choice do I have? If I don't, they'll kill my father, you dipstick!" She yelled.

"We need some form of a plan." Abe said.

"Like what?" Raven scrubbed at her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

"I have an idea…"

* * *

BK93: Time to pick up the pace a little bit! Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than my usual, but the beginning of chapter seven was originally part of this chapter before I decided to move it to have continuity throughout that scene. We had a nice, tender moment between Rae and Abe, and finally! The relationship begins. Too bad Hellboy is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Promise the next chapter is going to be more than just fluff!

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

(1) I swear to God, that is the cheesiest line I have ever used, but it worked!

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

This was actually a fun chapter to play around with while trying to give Raven and Abe a bit more of a relationship, but even more fun to have Hellboy constantly ruin the moment! Poor Abe & Rae, they'll never get a moment's peace with Red around.

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	7. Vienna

BK93: And here's where the action begins! FINALLY!

* * *

Abe's plan was probably the most reasonable thing said that night. The most young Raven could come up with was throwing eggs at her father's kidnappers, to which Hellboy commented, "Why not save them time and just make them omelets?" Raven glared at the demon and challenged him to come up with something different, which, of course, he couldn't. So they went with Abe's plan, and after thinking about it, he really didn't like what his own plan entailed, but it was too late now. On board the BPRD jet to Vienna, Abe confronted Raven about what she was about to do.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Rae?" He asked her, holding her hands in his own. He could feel her doubt and her fear flowing through her.

"Would I be lying if I said no?" She asked. Abe shook his head, something that looked weird with his neck tank on, and pulled her close to him. Raven rested her cheek against his chest, the feeling of the cool leather on her face calming her somewhat. "I'm scared." She whispered.

"You have every right to be." Abe replied, kissing the top of her head.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" She asked, looking up at him. He smiled down at her and played with the end of her long ponytail.

"You're going sacrifice yourself to save your father. Of course you're doing the right thing." He said wisely, giving Raven a small peck on the lips. "Do you have it in?" Raven nodded, indicating to where a hardly-noticeable device resembling a hearing aid was hidden in her ear, a clear hook hooking around the back of her ear. The small device was a communicator Abe had devised that would send an alarm to its receptor when it lost heat, indicating that the wearer had either removed it (in which case a tiny button could be pressed) or it was removed by another party. "Good." The seatbelt warning light came on as the jet prepared to touch down in Vienna. Raven and Abe sat down, side-by-side, Abe holding Raven's hand through their entire decent. The closer they got to Vienna, the more nervous she became. Abe gave her hand a soft squeeze as the jet bounced slightly as they touched down. There was no turning back. They had already arrived.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

The rag-tag group of freaks and the bureaucrat make their way through the streets of Vienna in a rented handicap van until they reached their destination in the outskirts of the city to an old corporate building facing the harbor. The van offloaded its riders and drove away, Manning at the wheel. Led by Raven, the group entered the building. Raven had seen no use in carrying her gun since whoever wanted her would most likely take it from her anyway, but Liz, Abe, and Hellboy entered with weapons drawn, Liz and Abe flanking her sides, Hellboy behind her, Samaritan cockily raised and resting against his shoulder, a cigar sticking out of his mouth. A man in a pristine white suit stood before them, his hands clasped together and a surprised, yet evilly pleased look on his face.

"Raven Sevella Night. I didn't think you'd come, much less with your own little posse." He smirked smugly. "Should I call you Raven, or do you prefer Rae?" Raven didn't answer, staring down the man and trying to bore holes in his skull. He looked from her to Liz, Abe, and Hellboy. 

"Please, lower your weapons. You won't be needing to shoot anything, unless Ms. Raven doesn't cooperate, that is." Raven looked at them.

"Just do what he says for now." She pleaded. Abe and Liz put their guns back in their holsters. Hellboy kept Samaritan out in a gesture of pure defiance. Raven resumed her glaring.

"Where is my father?" Her voice dripped with venom.

"I assure you, he is safe." The man in the suit said.

"That's not what I asked you. Where. Is. My. Father?" Raven emphasized every word, making sure he heard her clearly.

"He's right here, in this very building."

"Take me to him." She held her hand behind her back, a silent request to borrow Abe's gun. He removed it from its holster and placed it in her hand. "Take me to my father, or so help me God, I'll kill you." She brandished the weapon without fear, pulling back the slide to prove she was serious. "I don't easily miss." Raven held up the gun and aimed at the stranger's heart. He laughed and began to walk forward, pushing the gun down when he was close enough.

"There's no need for violence, Miss Night. I'll take you and your friends to your father. Just follow me." He turned and began to walk. Raven gave Abe his gun back and the four followed the man in the suit up several flights of stairs and down a hallway to a door leading to a small room. "Here he is." He opened the door for her and the group entered. Raven's father sat curled up on the floor, his legs against his chest and his head on his knees. His clothes were dirty and bloodied and his hair was a mess, but it was her father, none the less. Raven gasped sharply.

"PAPA!" She cried, running over to him. He looked up.

"Rae?" Raven dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her father's neck, sobbing into his chest. For the first time in almost four months, Dr. Xanthus Night held his only child close to him again. "You're going to get dirty." He told her, holding her and rubbing her back to soothe his crying daughter. Raven didn't care. She hugged her father and nuzzled her face into his neck, smiling as she cried and gasped between happy sobs.

"I don't fucking care." She said, holding on to him tightly. "I have my papa back." Night never wanted to let go of his daughter.

"Yes you do. And I have my baby girl back." He kissed her forehead lovingly.

"You're not hurt, are you, Papa?" She asked. "You're covered in blood."

"I'm fine, my angel." He lied. Hellboy tried not to scoff as Abe silently removed one glove and scanned the room, keeping his hand behind his back. In an instant, he knew about all of Xanthus Night's injuries, including seven gunshot wounds and several broken bones that would require immediate medical attention when they liberated him. "Why did you come, love?" He asked, still holding his daughter.

"I couldn't let him kill you. I don't know how or if I could live without my papa."

"I hate to break up this little reunion, but the girl and I had a deal. Raven must come with me." The man in the white suit said. Raven glared at him and looked back at her father, giving him a kiss on the temple.

"I'll be back, Papa. I promise." Raven said, standing up.

"It's time for your friends to leave, Raven." The man in the suit said.

"Wait just a moment. I wanted to talk to them." Night said. "Hellboy." He called the red demon, bidding him to come closer. Hellboy knelt down in front of Night, bringing himself to the man's level.

"How'd you know my name?" He asked. Night smiled weakly.

"You remember that journalist that interviewed your father in the summer of 1970?"

"Yeah, barely." The demon replied. Hellboy was a bit confused as to how Night knew about that.

"That was me. Your father taught me everything I knew about the paranormal. When I heard he was dead, I…I'm so sorry. He was a good friend." Night looked sad for a moment, and tired. "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"Really, that was more Abe than it was me." Hellboy stood and nudged Abe forward. The _icthyo sapien_ stumbled forward. Raven hurried to help him right himself and pressed herself against his side, earning a curious look from Night.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, sir. I'm Abe Sapien." He said. Night nodded.

"Pleasure's all mine. Wish we met under better circumstances, Abe." He said. Now came the breaking of the news to Raven's father. How do you say "I'm in love with your daughter" to your girlfriend's injured father?

"Papa, Abe is my boyfriend." Raven said.

_Apparently, like that. _Abe thought. Night looked at her in a little bit of shock and Raven nodded happily, giving Abe a quick peck on the cheek. Night shook his head and ran his fingers through his dark mass of messy, unruly hair.

"If he makes you happy, Rae, then I'm happy for you two." He said. Raven let go of Abe then and pulled Liz forward.

"And this is Liz, Papa. She's Hellboy's girlfriend." Liz waived shyly and Night waved back.

"Hello."

"Raven." The man in the white suit called out her name. "It's time for your friends to leave. You make walk them to the door, if you wish." Raven walked over and kissed her father's temple again.

"I'll be back, Papa." She swore.

"I know, Rae." He said. Raven, Liz, Hellboy, Abe, and the man in the white suit left the room, a man with a gun guarding the door. They headed back down to the entrance of the building and the man in the white suit allowed Raven to say her goodbyes. She hugged Liz and whispered something to her. Liz hugged the younger girl before letting go of her.

"Take care of yourself, alright?" Liz said. Raven nodded.

"I will." She promised before turning to Hellboy. She prodded his shoulder to get him to lean down far enough for her to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, big guy. For everything. We cool?" She asked. Hellboy nodded.

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss ya, kid." Raven's eyes watered and she hugged Hellboy, who hugged her back and ruffled her hair before pushing her into Abe. She hugged him tightest of all and kissed him, a single tear falling.

"I guess this is goodbye." He said as they separated.

"I guess so." Raven sniffled as she replied. Her arms draped loosely around his neck and his hands rested on her hips. They kissed each other one final time before Raven rested her forehead against his chest. "I'll miss you the most." She said softly.

"I know." Abe said, kissing her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." Raven began to cry, still holding on to Abe, trying to get as much contact with him as humanly possible. She kissed him one more time before letting go, rubbing her eyes dry with the sleeve of her black jacket. She walked over to the man in the white suit and stood beside him with a heavy sigh. She clenched her eyes closed so that she wouldn't have to watch her friends and her one true love walk out of the building and out of her life forever. Her hands curled into fists and her shoulders shook as she held back her sobs. Liz and Hellboy left first. Abe paused in the doorway and looked back to see tears running down her face. Raven opened her eyes and looked into his for the last time from across the room, mouthing "I love you" as her shoulders heaved. Abe mouthed back the phrase and walked out, the metal door closing behind him. Raven scrubbed her eyes and wiped away her tears as she turned to stare at the man in the white suit, her captor.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Outside the building, Abe couldn't have been more proud of Raven. She was quite the little actress. He remembered the emotions flowing through her when he touched her. She had been treating the whole scene like she really was never going to see him again. Their act had gone over flawlessly. Abe, Hellboy, and Liz got into Manning's van.

"How did it go?" He asked as he drove away. Doubling back on himself and making several turns, they ended up in a warehouse only about one hundred yards away from Raven and Night.

"Perfectly. Raven should be an actress." Liz said.

"Yeah. Kid had us all convinced." Hellboy said.

"What about Dr. Night?" Manning then asked, parking the van in the warehouse.

"Looked like he was in bad shape." Liz said.

"He was. The man was almost a walking gunshot wound. He had six or seven at least." Abe said. "We have to hurry and get them out of there. The man is a sadist, I could tell by looking at him. He's going to hurt her." Abe found himself worrying about Raven. He pulled out the headset connecting him to her via the communication device in her ear and waited for a word from her.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

The man in the white suit circled Raven, sizing her up, taking in her beauty.

"You're much prettier than I expected, Raven." He said.

"Who are you?" Raven demanded.

"I am Robert Jericho, and I'm a biochemical researcher, just like your father. I wanted you so that I could figure out how he did it."

"Did what?" Raven asked. She was no longer crying. Her fists were still clenched.

"Created you. He engineered a life, Raven. Not many others can boast of the same." Jericho said. "I was originally interested by you when I found out you were one-hundred-percent lab-created, and a mermaid as well. How does that work?" Raven didn't answer his question.

"You have a fiery spirit, just like your father. Passionate and bull-headed. You never yield to anyone. Traits I find most compelling in a woman. And you, my dear…" His eyes raked up and down her body appreciatively. "…Are most definitely a woman. How old are you, Raven? Sixteen, right? So young and so lovely. You'll make a beautiful young lady one day." Raven found herself feeling disgusted. Her captor was a sick pervert. "You will yield to me, Raven. You will tell me your secrets, or else."

"Or else what?" Raven demanded.

"I'll kill your father." Raven was scared but stood her ground. Her hands shook as Jericho snapped his fingers, summoning two armed men to the room. "Take our new guest to her chamber. Let her have a little time to freshen up before you take her to the lab." The two men nodded and one nudged Raven in the back with the barrel of his rifle.

"Let's go." He ordered.

"How about you lead the way, since I don't know where I'm going?" She shot back at the man. He looked at Jericho, who simply nodded. One man got in front of Raven, the other behind her to make sure she didn't run, and they took her up to the cell that was to be her room.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Once alone, Raven tapped on her tiny communicator. "This thing on?"

"Yeah. We can hear you, Rae." Abe's voice crackled through the communicator.

"Oh thank God. This guy's a big-time perv. He just broke my creep-o-meter." Raven shivered involuntarily.

"Sounded like one." Hellboy's voice this time.

"You guys could hear that?"

"Yeah. Basically, Rae, whatever you hear, we hear." Abe explained.

"Well, that's cool." Raven said. "Just hope it's waterproof." There was a loud bang on the door.

"Let's go!"

"Oh shit…keep it quiet, guys."

"Can do will do. It's all you, Rae." Abe said, and Raven could hear him switching off the mike on his end as one of Raven's two "escorts" opened the door.

"Let's go." He said force fully. Raven left her little cell and followed them to a large lab, where Jericho was waiting beside a large glass tank of water. Her father was there as well, pale in the face and being held up by another large man with a gun. Raven hurried over to him and helped him stand.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

"I think it's my ankle. I'm fine, Rae, it's just a sprain." He told her. Knowing full well that Raven wouldn't cooperate if her father was in pain, Jericho ordered a chair be brought for the scientist. Once her father was properly situated, Raven looked at Jericho.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked coldly.

"I want you to show me how it's done. How do you transition between forms?" Raven quietly shrugged out of her jacket and handed it to her father, walking over to the large glass tank.

"Here?" She asked. Jericho nodded and Raven ascended the ladder on the side of the tank and dove in to the cold water. Her transition from human to mermaid was almost instant and stunned everyone except herself and her father. Jericho gaped in a dignified manner, walking closer to observe Raven. She was nothing short of what he had expected her to be. She was actually more than he expected her to be. Her streamlined form was hidden from view by the loose shirt she wore. Even in a ponytail, her hair billowed around her, inky against the clear water. Her gills intrigued Jericho, and he was stunned by her powerful silver tail.

"Such a beautiful creature. How did you do it?" Jericho turned from daughter to father.

"I've already told you, it was a mutation of her DNA sequence! There was nothing I could've done to affect how she came out."

"Yes, yes, I know, Dr. Night. But there has to be something else to it. Maybe it was your wife's DNA. Oh, what was her name?"

"Cecelia." Raven said. Her communicator –very luckily- did still work underwater. The moment her mother's name was said, Abe knew the reason for the mutation in Raven's DNA.

"Cecelia wasn't a person." Abe muttered.

* * *

BK93: This is interesting…If Raven's mother wasn't a person, then who was she?

You'll have to wait and find out.

HAHA!

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

THERE WERE NO NUMBERED COMMENTS MADE IN THIS CHAPTER!

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

You didn't actually think I'd get them together and then split them up that quickly, did you? Psh, not.

We finally get more of Raven's father in this chapter! Yay for dads! :)

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	8. Bullets

BK93: And we're back to where everything begins to pick up a bit!

This is promising…

And it will get violent. Warning, violence.

* * *

"What do ya mean, Blue?" Hellboy was confused by his partner's statement.

"Cecelia…You don't get it?"

"No, so how's about explaining it?"

**--THISISABREAK!--**

"Cecelia Night never existed. There is no record of her birth, nor a record of her death." Raven was climbing out of the tank as Jericho spoke, wringing water out of her hair.

"What do you mean?" She demanded. Her father sighed.

"He's right, Rae. There was no Cecelia Night. You never had a mother. Your female DNA and mermaid genes came from a sample I took from a cecaelia."

"A what?" Raven asked, growing more and more confused by the moment.

"A cecaelia. A mercreature, just like you, only with the lower body of an octopus or squid. When the cecaelia's DNA fused with mine, it created the genetic code of a mermaid and the genetic code of a human. You were the world's first lab-created mermaid-human hybrid, and you were my daughter." Night explained quietly.

"Wait a minute. You made me this way? It's not an accident that I'm a freak?" Raven was now angry.

"You're not a freak, Rae. You're my daughter." Jericho walked behind Night and placed his hands on the scientist's shoulders.

"Your father, Raven, was not only America's greatest biochemist. He was obsessed with the paranormal, working for the BPRD for so long. He was already determined to create a life, but wouldn't it be a bonus if he could be the father of a hybrid? The paranormal and scientific communities would love him."

"I created her as my daughter, not as just some experiment for the fame of it all! I'm not like you, Jericho." Night spat out angrily. "Don't you dare make my daughter think that you and I are anything alike!"

"I know you're not!" Raven shouted. She held her head in her hands. The entire room was spinning, everyone's voices were changing. Her heart was pounding and her ears were ringing. There was just too much racing through her mind. She could feel herself starting to shut down. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, curling into a fetal position.

"Rae? Raven!" Night got out of his chair and stumbled over to Raven.

"What's wrong with her?" Jericho asked, not really caring.

"She's shutting down!" Night shook Raven. "Raven! Stay with me!" Raven's eyes were wide open, her pupils dilated, her body shaking. Finally, she stopped moving altogether and her eyes closed. "Raven!"

**--THISISABREAK!--**

It took the combined strength of Hellboy and three other FBI agents to keep Abe from bolting out the door and back into the building. The tricky amphibian almost made it, too, until Hellboy 

used an old chain and borrowed some of Liz's fire to keep him in his seat indefinitely. Abe was, of course, pissed, but Hellboy convinced him that it was for Raven's sake that he stayed put. Going in too soon would jeopardize their mission, or worse, Raven and her father's lives. Abe finally listened, but Hellboy left him chained to the chair with a laugh.

"That's for forgettin' your own plan, Blue!"

**--THISISABREAK!--**

A guard, under much pleading done by Night, carried Raven to Night's cell. He held her and begged her to wake up. When informed that fixing her would be difficult, Jericho nearly exploded.

"What do you mean, 'difficult?' There must be a component to replace, something to undo, a reset button!"

"It's not that simple!" Night raged. "This is a human being we're talking about! One created in a lab but one nonetheless! There is no reset button! Even with the proper equipment, it could take weeks to diagnose, isolate, and treat the problem!" This was not the information Jericho wanted. He took out his Magnum and shot a hole in the ceiling.

"You have a week to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again, Doctor, or I'm killing you both." Jericho threatened, storming out of the cell and slamming the door behind him.

"Rae…what's wrong? You haven't missed your diagnostics…my poor angel, you're just under way too much stress. Don't worry, love, I'll find a way to save us." He whispered to her motionless body.

"You won't have to, Papa." Raven opened her eyes and grinned up at her father. "I was faking."

"Raven, you scared me! Don't ever do that again, young lady!"

"Shh, Papa, keep your voice down. It's all part of the plan to break us out of here." Raven moved part of her loose ponytail out of the way to show him the tiny communicator in her ear as she explained.

"Raven, you devious little mermaid…" Night hugged his daughter.

"I know, Papa. You can thank Abe when we get out of here. He thought of it." Raven smiled. "He's great, isn't he?"

"You're both going to get the beatings of your lives for not telling me sooner." Night threatened.

"We didn't have a chance." Raven explained.

"I know, I'm just looking for a chance to kill your new boyfriend." Her father joked.

"Papa! Even when he's going to save our lives?"

"Point taken." Night replied. "How long will it take your boyfriend and his friends to get back?"

"That's up to me. I say the word and we're out. We're going to hang around and play a little longer, but if Jericho starts playing rough, we're going to have to leave the party." She joked. "Abe, you there?" She asked. There was a little bit of static before he responded.

"Yes."

"Where's that bastard?"

"Let me look." A moment or two passed. "In his lab. He's not pleased, Rae."

"Go figure. Creep. I'm gonna take care of Papa. Tell me if he starts coming back."

"Alright." Raven looked at her father. "I know you're hurt. I wasn't born in a cave, you know." She said, fishing out a small bottle of antiseptic and some gauze and dressing from her jacket's inside pocket. _Really, I wasn't born at all. _"I didn't bring much, so let's try to sterilize the worst of them first."

"Good thinking. I'm glad you're such a smart girl, or I'd be in a heap of trouble."

"Please, Papa. Without me, you're in deep dog shit." Raven said. Night shook his head with a laugh and rolled up his sleeve, revealing an exit wound from a .22-caliber round on the front of his left bicep. His daughter gasped. "Oh, they're dead meat." She muttered.

"You don't know the half of it, Rae. I've been shot, pistol-whipped, punched, kicked, everything." He said.

"Because you're a stubborn old goat who wouldn't give up his secrets."

"Exactly." When Raven touched the area around it to check for bone fracture, Night bit his lip to keep from screaming. "We're definitely getting that looked at when we get out of here." _And before we get out of here, heads are going to roll. I'll make sure of it. _Night shook his head as Raven soaked a piece of gauze in the antiseptic before plastering it over the wound. Night sucked in a breath as the harsh liquid burned his torn flesh.

"No, we can't."

"And why not?" Raven demanded, repeating the process for the entrance wound on the back of his arm.

"A hospital would ask too many questions. I can't risk it."

"No one will ask questions, Papa." Raven placed pieces of dry gauze over the wet ones to make them look less obvious under his shirt sleeve before wrapping it in kerlix(1).

"How do you know?"

"They won't be allowed to. All they'll know is that you were injured during a top-secret mission for the FBI. Abe and I worked that out already, and we have Manning to vouch for us."

"Manning?"

"He's the FBI's liaison to the BPRD. Who did you think Abe, Hellboy, and Liz worked for?" Raven said. "Silly Papa."

"So Hellboy stayed on. You should've mentioned the BPRD in the first place, Rae. I used to work for them. Hellboy's father and I were good friends back in the day."

"I know. Crud, I didn't bring enough kerlix." Raven muttered. "I know I should've brought two rolls."

"Raven! He's coming back!" Abe warned of the approaching threat to their plan. Raven hurried to stuff the dressing trash in her pocket as Night rolled down his shirt sleeve. Raven put her head down in her father's lap and closed her eyes as Jericho walked through the door, carrying a cane and looking pleased with himself in a twisted sort of way.

"I've set up an area for you in the lab, Doctor. Come with me. Leave the girl." Jericho thrust the cane at the scientist. "We've secured a human embryo and a copy of my genetic code. You best hurry, Night. You wouldn't want to miss the fun."

"What 'fun?'" Night questioned.

"Why, the fun of you replicating your experiment, of course!"

"And if I choose not to cooperate?" Night asked coldly.

"Oh, you'll cooperate, all right." Jericho walked behind Night and pushed the barrel of his handgun into his back. "Or else."

"Kill me, I don't care. You don't frighten me, Jericho." Jericho raised his gun and turned toward Raven.

"I know." He pulled the unconscious girl off of the floor by her hair and pressed the gun to her temple. "Start walking, Night, or I'll kill your precious little girl." Night glared at Jericho.

"You so much as fire that gun in her general direction and I'll beat the living shit out of you." He threatened. Jericho laughed.

"And how do you expect to accomplish that? You can't stand on your own, much less fight me!" Jericho cocked his gun. Night, with a grimace, began to hobble to the lab. Jericho dropped Raven back down to the floor. "I love using children as leverage." He laughed. "I always get my way." He put the gun in its holster and walked out of the cell, slamming the door closed behind him. Raven sat up.

"That bastard makes one more threat against mine and my father's lives, he's toast."

"Damn straight." Abe agreed through the communicator.

"You guys doin' alright in there, kid?" Hellboy asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just a little pissed off, Red." Raven replied. "I really don't like this asshole."

**--THISISABREAK!--**

In the lab, Night couldn't help but notice Jericho's goons placing charges all around the room.

"What're they doing?"

"Oh, did I forget that part? When you've finished here, this place is going to blow sky high." Jericho laughed and leaned closer to the scientist. "With you and your little girl in it." It was just the opportunity Night needed. He swung his fist, successfully punching Jericho square in the nose. Jericho cried out and stumbled backward, his nose broken. Night jumped from his chair and ran as fast as he could on a broken ankle, grabbing Jericho's gun from its holster. He shot a guard and stole his .22, running back toward his cell one floor below.

"Don't just stand there, you nimrods! Shoot him!" Jericho shouted. Night ducked and dodged bullets as they flew his way. One came fairly close to killing him, nicking his cheek. He jumped down the stairs three at a time, and turned at the bottom of the staircase. He squeezed off three or four rounds into the two goons in the front, causing them to fall and trip up the others. Night laughed.

"Idiots!" He tore off down the hallway. He wrenched open the door to his cell. "I'm sorry, love, but it looks like Papa has thrown a monkey wrench in your plans. We need backup now!" Raven jumped to her feet and her father tossed her the .22.

"What did you do?!" She shouted.

"This place is gonna blow higher than a bottle rocket pretty soon! Jericho was planning on blowing up the building when he got what he wanted from me. He was going to kill us anyway!"

"Abe, you heard the man! Get your asses down here!" There was no response. "Abe?!" Still none. "Dammit, Abe! Papa, my communicator broke! We're on our own."

"Shit." Night muttered.

Little did they know that the moment Night had come running through the door, Abe realized something was wrong and they were already on their way. Raven ran out of the cell, her father closely following. Raven ducked as a bullet whizzed by her head.

"Whoa!" She opened fire on the goons as they came around the corner. "Get out of here, Papa!" She shouted.

"Not without you!" He called back.

"I have some unfinished business I have to take care of." She growled. As she tried to fire, the gun just clicked. "Oh shit…nevermind!" She threw down the gun. "Out of ammo!" She grabbed Night by the back of his shirt and started to run. He threw away Jericho's empty .357 and ran with her. It was now a race to get out alive. Bullets ricocheted off of the walls as the remaining goons fired, with more coming out. "They never stop, do they?" She shouted over the noise of gunfire. A bullet grazed her shoulder and she cried out in pain.

"Rae!"

"Keep running I'm fine!" She yelled, gripping her shoulder. Suddenly, she collided with something big. "Shit that hurt!"

"Hey, I ain't shit, kid." Raven looked up.

"Hellboy!" She squealed. "I could kiss you!" She jumped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Got my gun?"

"Yeah." He handed Raven her .22 and several clips, which she stuck in her jacket's breast pocket.

"Thank God. You're a lifesaver."

"Call it intuition." Abe said. Raven ran to him and kissed him.

"Don't scare me like that. I thought we were dead. This place is rigged to explode!"

"We will be dead if you don't start firing!" Night called, bringing his daughter back into the present. Raven turned and began to fire. Abe saw the blood seeping through Raven's jacket.

"Rae, you're hurt!" He said.

"Minor scratch. Hellboy, come with me! We have some unfinished business to attend to now that I have a loaded weapon." Raven made her way through the carnage, shooting and ducking and dodging rounds. Hellboy merely sauntered through, squeezing off a round when he thought Raven was in a tight spot. Raven hurried up the flights of stairs. "After this, no more damn stairs. Ever." She muttered, bursting into the empty lab. "Alright, major dipshit, where are you?" Raven called out. Her voice echoed throughout the lab, followed by a laugh from Jericho.

"Oh, Raven. Your father doesn't know how stupid he is. You could be famous. You could be set for life. I could've paid him for his research. I happen to be a very wealthy man."

"No kidding. How else could you have kept those goons on the payroll?" Jericho, still hiding, chuckled.

"You have your father's dry sense of humor, Raven."

"Yeah, and you're a chicken, otherwise you'd be out here saying that shit to my face and not to the shadows." Jericho ignored her, obviously, and turned his attention to Hellboy.

"Hellboy, isn't it? Your father was such an inspiration to me, and to Night, I know." Suddenly, there was a loud clanging noise and yelling, and Jericho rolled out from behind a machine, Night pinning him down and punching him. Stunned, neither Hellboy nor Raven moved as the two engaged in hand-to-hand combat, until Jericho drew a much smaller single-loader pistol out of his pocket and aimed at Night's stomach.

"NO!" Raven shouted. She ran and pulled Night off of Jericho as Jericho pulled the trigger. Instead of hitting Night, the bullet went through Raven's stomach. Enraged, Night took Raven's gun and fired off several rounds into Jericho's chest. One bullet pierced his black heart, killing him instantly.

"Raven…" He laid his bleeding daughter on the ground, her hands clasped over her new wound.

"This'll make a cool scar." She groaned. "Ohh." She almost curled into a ball, eyes and teeth clenched shut. She turned her head to the side and coughed up a wad of blood.

"She'll die if we don't get her out."

"Leave that to me." Hellboy scooped up Raven. "Kid can't die. I've taken too much of a likin' to her." Leaving Jericho's dead body where it was, Hellboy and Night started out of the lab. Night paused when he heard ticking. Night looked back and his worst fears were confirmed. Laying next to Jericho, in one hand, was his pistol. In the other was a dead man's switch.

"Oh, shit…RUN!"

* * *

BK93: And CUT! Break for lunch, everyone! Good shoot today!

Don't you hate me? :)

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS:**

(1) A very fluffy, gauzy dressing that comes in rolls, used generally to hold gauze onto an open wound. They have to use it on my daddy's leg all the time.

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

Oh God, it's the return of the dreaded CLIFFHANGER! Will they make it out? Will Raven survive her wounds? What happened to Abe and Liz against the rest of the goons?

You'll have to wait until next time to find out!!

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	9. Bullets prt 2

BK93: Not much of an interruption from me. Story go!

* * *

"What the hell…?" Hellboy asked.

"Bastard had a dead man's switch. God only knows how much time we have to get the hell out of here!" Hellboy didn't need any more explanation as he ran out the door with Raven, Night in tow. They both practically jumped down the flights of stairs to get to the first floor.

"Clear out! Let's go!" Hellboy yelled.

"What's wrong?" Liz demanded, her question overridden by Abe's.

"What happened to her?!"

"Explain later, Blue!" Hellboy said. "Haul out!" The barked order was interrupted when Night fell to the floor, unable to support his weight on his broken ankle any longer. Liz and Abe rushed to pull the scientist up. "Now haul out!" Hellboy ran and kicked down the heavy steel doors that would have taken too long to open manually. Manning and his handicapped van were waiting outside. Knowing that loading up into the van would have taken precious time that they didn't have, Hellboy kicked the back bumper to tell him to drive.

They barely made it out of blast range. The force of the explosion sent them all flying. Hellboy was forced to twist awkwardly to keep the already-injured Raven from being crushed by his weight. He watched the building burn, knowing that inside, Jericho's body was being incinerated. After what they had heard coming from Raven's communicator and seeing the way he carelessly had shot the girl, he decided that he had really deserved to die a more painful death, and that Night had been too merciful in shooting him in the chest.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

After getting everyone out, getting Raven and Night to the nearest hospital was of the utmost importance. Hellboy, Liz, and Abe had only minor injuries. Night was taken to the emergency room, and Raven was wheeled into surgery upon arrival. Everyone stared at the pyro, the amphibian, and the demon as they waited for news about their friends' conditions. Abe paced back and forth, his hands behind his back. Hellboy picked the dirt out from under his fingernails with a pocket knife, and Liz read a magazine.

"Cool your jets, Blue. You're gonna put a hole in the floor. Take a load off and hold the kid's gun. Wait, I take that back. Don't hold the kid's gun." There was no telling who Abe would shoot to get to Raven. Defeated and sore-footed, Abe sat down beside his friend, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"She could die, Red. She could be dead and they're just not telling us! We've been here for three hours!" Abe groaned angrily. "There was so much blood…her blood…I think I'm going to be sick…" In that moment, Abe was glad he hadn't eaten at all that day. Hellboy dropped one massive arm around Abe's shoulders and shook him.

"Raven's got fight, Blue. She's a strong kid. She was totally conscious up until they put her under for surgery. Give the girl a little more credit than that." He said. As Hellboy finished speaking, a doctor in dark blue scrubs wearing a mask and glasses came out of an "Authorized Personnel Only" door and walked into the waiting room, his hands clasped in front of his chest.

"I'm looking for Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman and Hellboy?" He announced. While he spoke English very well, his voice was heavy with an Austrian accent. The three BPRD agents stood up.

"That's us." Liz said.

"Are you friends with Raven Night?"

"Yes."

"Come with me, please." In an instant, Abe was filled with a sense of impending dread. Quietly, they followed the doctor through the door. "Your friend was asking for you all at the start of the surgery, especially Mr. Sapien. How did she get this wound?"

"Shot with a .40-caliber single load pistol at point-blank range." Abe rattled off emotionlessly.

"She's very lucky. The bullet's trajectory took it past all of her vital organs. It entered at an angle and exited out of her left side. Her oblique muscles on that side will be damaged and she will be considerably weaker than she was before, but she should make a full recovery in almost no time at all." Abe almost passed out. Raven was going to be alright! "As for the gunshot wound on her left shoulder, it merely grazed and tore some skin and muscle. Though it may weaken her left arm, it will take hardly any time to recover. She's in recovery right now." The doctor opened another door. "She'll be in quite a bit of pain for some time, and the anesthesia has not fully worn off yet, so she may not recognize you or respond if you ask her any questions." He led the group into a room where Raven lie in a bed in a light blue hospital gown, hooked up to various machines and three IVs, one being antibiotics, one being painkillers, and one being a unit of blood. Raven's head rolled over to the side and she saw the little group gathered by her bedside.

"Hey. You made it." She smiled weakly and began to sit up, groaning as she did so and falling back against the mattress. "Forgot I can't do that." She picked up a small tan remote with a small green button and pressed on the button. The machine beside her bleeped. "Ahhh." She moaned angrily. "Gimme my morphine." Abe quietly took the button from her hand and set it down beside her.

"It's not time for another dose just yet." He said softly, holding her hand. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Peachy." She looked up at him. He kissed her lips first, then her forehead. "I look like a mess, don't I?" She asked.

"Just a little. Nothing water couldn't solve." He told her. Raven turned her attention from him to Hellboy and Liz.

"Thanks, guys. For everything. I came to you looking for help and you saved my life, and my papa's life. You are a crazy bunch of somebitches, I tell ya, and I couldn't be happier."

"That's what we're here for, kid." Hellboy replied, ruffling her hair.

"It was fun." Liz hugged her.

"Hey, that's leavin' talk. I ain't leavin', if it's alright with you guys and Manning."

"Of course it is, Rae." Abe said.

"Well, then, you ain't getting rid of me so easily. This won't keep me down for long." Raven said. She pondered for a moment before asking a small question. "If I stay, is my codename gonna have to be 'kid?'" She looked up expectantly with a goofy grin on her face. Hellboy, Liz, and Abe looked at each other before nodding.

"Yeah, pretty much. Welcome to the BPRD, Kid." Hellboy said as the doctor walked back in, having left to give the group some privacy. Raven picked up her button, aimed it at him, and pressed it.

"What're you doing, Rae?" Abe asked.

"Trying to mute him. He uses big words that hurt my head." She said. The doctor chuckled.

"Is she related to Dr. Xanthus Night?" He asked Hellboy. Before he could answer, Raven piped up.

"Hey, buddy, over here." He looked down at her. "I may be an incapacitated invalid with a serious need for some friggin' morphine, but I can still answer for myself, thanks!" She shot out. "And yes, I am!" The doctor couldn't help but laugh at the spirited girl lying before him.

"He was just moved into a regular room. Would you like to join him?"

"Sure. Give me somebody to bug when these fools aren't here." Raven jerked her head toward the trio of freaks. The doctor laughed and took the brakes off of Raven's bed.

"Could someone get her IVs?" Abe grabbed the pole and rolled it behind the doctor and Raven as they left the recovery room.

"We're goin' for a ride! We're goin' for a ride!" Raven chanted. Abe laughed. The mermaid was definitely spaced out on painkillers. She was rolled into a room and her bed was parked right next to her father's. Night was out of bed, sitting up. He was bandaged in several places and looked tired. Raven looked at Night as the doctor parked her bed before leaving, closing the door.

"The nice doctor took me for a ride and I have a big hole in my belly!" She laughed manically. "I love painkillers. They're really nice, they're giving me morphine again so that you'll have to remind me of all the crazy shit I did!" Hellboy couldn't help but laugh. "And most of the nurses speak, like, _German_ or something like that and I can't understand a word they said! And if you ask me, the doctor's kinda cute, but don't tell Abe!" Abe crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Raven…" He said softly.

"You weren't supposed to hear that! Papa told you, didn't he?" Hellboy plopped down in one of the chairs in the room.

"Now _this_ is entertainment!" He laughed. "I could stay here!" Raven on morphine was like Raven on crack, bouncing around with no idea what she was saying. Abe wondered how fast her mood would change and got his answer when Raven suddenly stilled and closed her eyes.

"I'm acting like a goofball, aren't I? I'm not in my right mind…" There was a moment of rationality within the madness. "Hello world. Wakey wakey." Raven closed her eyes and allowed her head to roll to the side, opening them and looking at her father. "You owe me big time." She said. "I love you, Papa." He nodded.

"I love you too, Rae." Raven yawned widely and closed her eyes.

"Being silly is the best way to deal with the pain." She said softly. "It hurts so bad…even the morphine isn't taking the edge off." Raven opened her eyes and looked around the room. "But having my friends, my father, and my boyfriend here certainly does make dealing easier." She smiled weakly before groaning. "Oh, God, my stomach hurts…" She grasped at the inflicted area, wishing she could just ram her hands down into the hole and rip herself apart to make the pain stop. But what good would that do her? Then she'd be worse off than she was now. "Remind me of the pain next time before I take a bullet for anyone else." She wheezed. "Nah, I'm kidding. I'd fill myself full of holes for you guys." She said with another weak smile.

"And we'd do the same for you." Liz said. Hellboy, Abe, and Night nodded in agreement. Abe walked over to Raven and pulled the small chair that was next to her bed closer, sitting down. He kissed her temple.

"I really freaking hurt." She muttered.

"I know." Abe stroked her hair softly to try and give her some amount of comfort. Raven picked up her head and rested it on Abe's hand, letting his fingers caress the back of her neck. She let out a soft moan.

"God that feels good…" She closed her eyes and leaned back into his hand, allowing herself to rest for the first time since she came out of surgery. Abe continued his soft caressing, just glad he could help take her mind off of the pain. After a moment of silence only disturbed by the beeping of a machine, Raven spoke again. "Y'know, it's gonna be hard to have kids with a hole in my stomach."

"WHAT?!" The entire room looked at Raven in shock. Her father scowled.

"Raven, are you pregnant?" He growled.

"Oh Good heavens no, she isn't! She's far too young for _that,_ Dr. Night!" Abe's face was on fire and it was clear to everyone in the room that he was embarrassed.

"I was just sayin'." Raven said with an innocent smile. Abe and her father glared. Raven closed her eyes and took a deep, rasping breath. "I like to mess with you guys. Sorry." Raven took another deep breath and sighed. "Still have a little bit of anesthesia in me. Let's see if I can use that to get some sleep…" Within moments, Raven was still and quiet. Abe watched as her chest rose and fell with every breath, thanking God that she was still alive.

**--THISISABREAK!--**

Four days later, Raven and Night were cleared for travel by the Austrian hospital and were loaded up into the BPRD jet. It was painful for Raven to sit in the airplane chairs, even reclined and wrapped up in a blanket with Abe beside her. Finally, she just allowed herself to succumb to the pain and passed out, staying asleep until the plane touched down in Trenton. Hellboy stretched upon exiting the plane. He cracked his neck and sighed.

"So great to be home." Hobbling over on crutches, Night agreed.

"I almost forgot what it felt like to be in Jersey." He said softly. "I'm so glad I'm home where people speak English. Austria was fun, but having to have an interpreter 24/7 was a pain in the ass." Hellboy nodded.

"I can imagine." Abe rolled Raven down a ramp in a wheelchair.

"Thank God. Home." She said softly. "Now I can go rot in a Jersey hospital instead of an Austrian hospital!" She joked. "Sweet!" Abe laughed and shook his head.

"I don't think I'll ever fully understand you, Rae."

"Nope! Get used to it." Raven said with one of her classic goofy grins. "You know what? I could really go for Vivaldi and ice cream right about now." Abe laughed.

"After we get you checked in at the hospital, I promise." He said with a smile.

"It's great to be home."

**--THISISABREAK!--**

**FOUR MONTHS LATER**

After recovering from their wounds in the hospital, Raven and Night signed on as members of the BPRD. Manning worshipped the ground Night walked on and actually would spend more time with the four other agents when Night was around. Because of the events that took place that day in Austria, Night walked with a permanent limp and used a cane to get around. Raven did indeed have another large scar on her stomach and her left shoulder sometimes gave her trouble, but she mostly ignored it. Raven detoxed off of painkillers and used physical therapy to deal with her pain, something Abe was very proud of her for. She made a full recovery and went right back to shooting the shit out of stuff and reading her romance novels, every once in a while sneaking off with Abe to visit Bayel in the underground (among other things.) Like she promised the demonic gatekeeper, Raven took Night to visit Bayel as soon as they were able to. Raven and Liz were still the best of friends, and Hellboy still called her "kid." Everything was going well, until the red lights started flashing.

Then, it was off to work again.

* * *

BK93: Sequel? I dunno…I was thinking of something set in the plotline of _The Golden Army_ and possibly twisting stuff around a bit.

We'll just have to see.

LOVE YALL!

**AUTHORESS'S COMMENTS: **

THERE WERE NO NUMBERED COMMENTS MADE IN THIS CHAPTER!

**UNNUMBERED NOTES:**

OH MY GOD, IT'S OVER!! So sad…

Tell me whether or not I should make a sequel. Love!

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE COOKIES, VERY NICE.**


	10. Sequel Sampler Platter

BK93: Okay, guys, I threw together a quick little sample platter of the first chapter of the _Beholder _sequel, and if you read the updates I put on my profile, you'll know what I'm doing. Hopefully, you guys will like the bits I pulled from the nine-page-long chapter enough to yell at me, throw things at me, and call me an idiot because I didn't post the entre thing. Love you guys, here's a sampler platter of snippets!

* * *

"I have no clue what these things are." He explained, mostly to Raven and Liz, the most human ones of the group. "They just spit fire and whoosh! An entire building goes up. People are gonna be hurt."

"What do they look like?" Hellboy asked, producing a Cuban cigar and lighter from his pocket. He stuck the cigar in-between his teeth and flipped open the lighter to light it.

"Well, they're big, red, and they have horns." Liz, Abe, and Raven looked at Hellboy, who boredly snapped his lighter closed, his trademark cigar smoking away merrily. He took a long drag and let out a puff of white, curling smoke with a sigh.

"Oh boy." He muttered. "Relatives."

--

…Raven took off like a bullet from a gun with nary an explanation.

"Get out of my way!" She shouted at an unlucky police officer that happened to block her path, shoving him. Only momentarily did she pause to weigh the decisions she was making and unbuckled and dropped her gunbelt. With unusual force, Raven slammed herself through the first window she came across.

"Raven!" Abe, Liz, and Hellboy shouted in unison, running after her.

"Rae!" Abe yelled over the roaring flames, but to no avail.

"Kid! What the hell?!" Hellboy roared into his communicator. Raven didn't respond. "Kid!! Raven!"

--

…She leapt over burning debris and fallen roof timbers. Before she could reach it, the front doorway collapsed. Her entrance window was blocked by a high wall of flames. For the first time ever, Raven was genuinely afraid for her life…

--

… She looked up at him with her same tired gaze, snuggling closer and closing her eyes again, her head against his shoulder, her bloody arm draped over her stomach. Abe sighed a little more softly. Now, all he wanted to do was to get her home. At the same time, he wanted to shoot the reckless young woman he had come to love…


End file.
